


Curiosity and Nightmares

by Shadako



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-16 23:48:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 54,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11839578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadako/pseuds/Shadako
Summary: Jack could still remember the shudder that ran down his spine when he first met the dark spirit in his lair. Back then, he dismissed it as nothing but a sliver of fear. It gets pretty hard to ignore your feelings however, when you're forced to work together with your worst enemy. But it's not like he's getting a choice, with a new evil on the rise. Why couldn't things ever be easy for the guardian of fun? [BlackIce]





	1. First Chapter: A white town of Burgess

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

**First Chapter: A white town of Burgess**

 

Icy wind is howling through the streets in the quiet town of Burgess, successfully chasing every human being inside his or her house. It's late november and the townspeople have adjusted just fine to the biting temperatures, but this night feels especially harsh. Most of them settle for a cozy evening in front of their TV screen, others just went to sleep early. And certainly no child is allowed to go out this late. This left a certain winter spirit alone and rather bored. What was the point in visiting his favorite town when no one was out to play with? Getting a bit frustrated with the fact that he would have to wait the whole night for some entertainment, Jack Frost decided to pay a visit to his long time friend Jamie.

 

Of course the boy had long since grown up, he was sixteen or seventeen by now, but that didn't change the fact that he still believed in the guardians. Floating on a snowy breeze, the white haired spirit searched the houses for the familiar one. It didn't take him long to make out the right building, peering inside the first window that comes into view. It belongs to Sophie, Jamie's little sister. The blonde girl was sprawled out on her bed, peacefully asleep. Jack couldn't hide the smile that played across his lips when he heard her very unladylike snoring. She had grown up as well, becoming somewhat of a rebellious teen. The girl stopped believing in fairy tales and Santa Clause sometime last year, but the winter spirit still had a soft spot for her, Sophie being one of his very first believers. Of course that didn't stop him from playing a little prank on her now and then. But she wasn't the reason he was here, now was she.

 

A soft golden glow from the next window signaling that Jamie was still awake. Good, so maybe Jack would actually get some fun out of this night. Planning to freeze the boy's window and create a roaring ice dragon to give him a good scare, the spirit drifted over to to the next window sill. He chuckled softly as he imagined the scolding look the Tooth Fairy would give him for this. But nobody said you couldn't pull a prank on a human now and then once you're a guardian. It was all just fun and games, of course.

Staff in hand and ready to cause some trouble for his unsuspecting friend, Jack looked inside the illuminated bedroom. But his joy was short lived. With a slightly annoyed groan he caught sight of not one, but two teenagers inside. So Jamie didn't have time for him either? Oh, come on, he was the spirit of winter and surely more interesting than some random girl. Sourly crossing his arms Jack seated himself on the windowsill, willing to wait till the friend Jamie had over would leave. But after a few minutes of watching he came to the conclusion that the brunette girl had no intentions of leaving. And she certainly was more than just Jamie's _friend_ , judging from the way she pressed her lips to his. If Jack would have been able to blush, he would be the darkest shade of red by now. _This_ was not the reason he was here, at all. Couldn't they at least turn off the light or close the damn curtains? Honestly.

 

Things inside the room were heating up pretty quick and Jack did _not_ want to watch, so after the girl's shirt hit the ground, he was off. What was _wrong_ with everybody lately? Was this stupid romance stuff the only thing on peoples minds? There is more to life than making out. It annoyed the guardian of fun to no end. Somehow, all of the kids who believed in him after their last big fight with the Boogeyman had decided that getting a girl- or boyfriend was more important than spending time outside to play in the snow. Sure, there were new kids who believed in the guardians, but still. What was so damn great about this cheesy romantic _crap_? Jack never really bothered with it back when he was just some stray spirit, staying away from people and their private lives mostly. But now he was a guardian, so he naturally spent more time with them. Everything was great for a while, with the kids and all that. But nowadays when he felt like visiting one of his friends to play, they were already busy _playing_ with someone else. Like humanities sole reason for existence was snogging each others faces, for crying out loud. Honestly, it made him angrier than it should.

 

With the last bit of good mood and hope for some fun - time down the drain, he could just as well create a nice little blizzard. What else to do in the middle of the night all alone? He stood on top of the school buildings roof as he watched the chaotic snowstorm unfold. Nothing too bad, just something to blow off some steam. Yes, that was very childish of him. Yes, it was not called for at all. And no, it didn't have _anything_ to do with the fact that he was pissed off that everybody he knew seemed to have _someone_. Everybody but him, of course.

 

Now even Jamie, who was roughly three hundred years younger, had more experience than the winter spirit. That wasn't fair at all, was it. Sure, Jack had died at a quite young age, probably not older than Jamie was now, but still. It was just unfair, and he hated the fact that he couldn't do much about it. The teenage guardian spent the rest of the night sitting on his roof, watching the city grow white beneath a layer of snow. Served them right, now they had something else to worry about other than getting laid, namely getting out of their houses in the morning somehow. But as much as he wished it would, it didn't make him feel better all that much.

 

Idly toying with his staff beneath the icy clutches of the wind, it took a while until Jack noticed something small buzzing next to his ear. The annoying sound pulled him out of his bitter thoughts and he turned to face its source. Baby tooth was happily chirping next to him, a bit ruffled by the harsh wind. A grin tugged at his lips once he reached a hand out to her small form.

"What's up, little one?" He hadn't seen her in quite a while, since they all had met up to celebrate last Easter. What could she want now? Her loud and high pitched squeaking was a riddle to Jack, but once she started to tug on his Hoodie, he knew she wanted him to follow. With nothing better to do than to watch his bad – mood – induced snowstorm, the spirit took off after her, leaving behind a very white town of Burgess.

 

~.~.~.~

 

The chaotic workshop hadn't changed since the last time he had visited. Elves were doing more harm than good with their work, annoyed Yetis trying to keep them in line and getting their own work done. The bulky North walking between them, shouting orders in his Russian accent now and then. Everything was horribly hectic, with Christmas just around the corner. And yet Santa bothered to sent for the other guardians. Jack didn't get why he wanted them around at all, but what did it matter. He always loved to sneak around between the tons of toys and inventions, everything colorful and interesting. Today it didn't do that much to improve his sour mood, but it definitely was a good start.

He only arrived here a couple of minutes ago, and apparently so had Sandy. The golden glowing spirit currently seated on a big plush couch, smiling and symbolizing stuff above his head to communicate with some elf, which was shocking itself with brightly lit Christmas decorations. Baby tooth had left Jacks side as soon as they approached the north pole, probably going back to escort her queen. So for now he was left with Sandy to wait for the others to arrive, still no idea why he was even here. Asking the sandman wouldn't result in any useful information and watching him and the elves was more fun either way. So the winter spirit kept to himself until Bunnymund, Tooth, some of her faeries and North decided to join them.

 

Once the large man was seated, he offered cookies to Tooth and Sandy, being his usual jolly self. They started talking about this and that, nothing really important to Jack, so he zoned out. Santa had probably just invited them all over to chat and what not. Unusual, but why not. He wasn't one to over analyze stuff like that. The white haired spirit didn't really care, too busy with his own thoughts. Yes, he was still brooding silently about his _meeting_ with Jamie.

 

He honestly couldn't get over the fact that his young human friend had a lover and he didn't. Not even someone close to it. But then again, it wasn't as if he could just go and find one, that's much more complicated if you happen to be a spirit. Most mortals couldn't even see him, and as a guardian it wasn't exactly suitable to flirt around with them either. Leave alone the fact that they would die quite fast, given their mortality. So that was out of the question. What's left, then? Other immortal beings. But Jack wasn't prone to being the overly social type, so he barely knew any. And even less he actually liked. Those were namely the other guardians. He let his gaze wander through the room, over his still chatting companions.

 

There was Tooth, friendly and nice and all, but her teeth - fetish was creepy, to be honest. And she had a lot of feathers. Not that it was bad to have them or anything, just not really his type, is all. The next who came into view was Bunny. Yeah, not gonna happen. The Pookha's more like a mean big brother or something. Just like North is closer to a father figure in the frost sprites eyes, not a person you would get attracted to. That left Sandy, but honestly? Dating the sandman doesn't sound that appealing, either. Plus, Jack highly doubted the happy little guy would be interested in anything but dream sand and sleep. Not that he didn't like them, his first real friends. Just not in _that_ way.

 

Sighing, he turned his attention to the crackling fireplace somewhere on the other side of the room. The guardians were his family and they would never be anything else, so the teen came to the sad conclusion that he's running thin on options. Was he really supposed to spend the rest of eternity alone? It wasn't that bad the first 300 years, sure, but now it's a different story. Now he had people to actually compare with. And a high school student with more experience as a best friend. With growing frustration Jack glared at the fire, silently cursing his inability to think of anybody suitable. Honestly, why is it so hard to come up with another immortal being who's not part of the guardians? It shouldn't be, really.

 

"What about Pitch?" Jack's process of thought came to an abrupt halt and he stared wide eyed at Bunny. Did the rabbit somehow acquire the ability to read his mind? And also, what the heck? How about no. North answers, oblivious to the startled winter spirit and his musings.

 

"No, no, it can't be him. He's gone, remember?" He gave the furry guardian a knowing look. The rabbit just shrugs, scoffing angrily. "Didn't stop him from coming back the last time."

 

The Tooth fairy shudders at the mention of the Boogeyman, clutching one of her little fairy's to her chest. Obviously the conversation had turned serious at some point, but Jack couldn't tell since he was busy daydreaming. His gaze wanders between the Easter bunny and Santa, both now arguing if it was possible for the nightmare king to be back so soon or not. Sandy trying to get himself noticed, pointing at the signs above his head. Tooth just observing the banter between the two other guardians with worry.

 

"Ah... guys? What makes you think he's returned?" All eyes are quite suddenly on the guardian of fun, much to Jack's dismay. He should at least _try_ to pay attention in future meetings. Bunny is the first to answer, shaking his head.

 

"Didn't you listen, Frostbite? The nightmares." Jack could only raise an eyebrow. Nightmares weren't unusual. There would always be a certain amount of them around, no matter what. Humans needed nightmares and fear, to a degree, to prevent them from doing stupid things. As long as the darkness wasn't overpowering the light and the good sides of life, everything was alright, wasn't it? Apparently not, since the rabbit throws a disapproving look at Jack.

 

"Sandy just told us about his latest encounter with one of them." Now it's the kind voice of Toothiana explaining. "He said that he couldn't get rid of it, no matter what he tried. He couldn't turn it either, since it wasn't made of sand this time." Now that was new and it certainly perked Jack's interest. "What was it made of, then?"

 

The four guardian's attention focused back on the smallest one, Sandy already forming shapes at record speed. No one but Tooth seemed to be able to follow, so she translated for them. "He's saying it was pure shadow, or darkness. And no matter how often he tried to, he couldn't make it shatter or go away. Well, this is strange."

 

By now North and Bunny were alarmed, whatever that had been, it couldn't be good. "So, how did you get rid of it?" The impatient Easter bunny inquired. Once again Tooth doing the talking for Sandy. "It went away once he finished with his work. It wasn't doing much, just watching him." The fairy shuddered at the idea of one of those things following her around. Creepily watching her. Not pleasant at all.

 

"So, basically you're saying Pitch somehow managed to create even _more_ annoying nightmares?" Bunnymund wasn't happy, you could tell that much from the look on his face. The sandman just nodded eagerly, waving his little arms. Tooth gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. The first to speak again was North, the bulky man standing from his seat.

 

"Now, now, no need to worry! He didn't do anything yet, and we just saw one of those creatures. No big trouble." The rabbit stomping his large paw in disagreement, huffing.

 

"If it's Pitch, it's always trouble! And how do we know he doesn't have an army of those things already? He could have anything down in that creepy lair of his." Santa seemed to think this over for a moment before he nodded.

 

"You might be right, we need to make sure he's not up to something." Tooth and Sandy nodding eagerly, Jack just shrugging. Well, how bad could it be, so far there hadn't been any incidences apart from what Sandy just told them. Probably nothing, really.

 

"We need to go check on him. We shouldn't have let him out of our sights for so long in the first place." Bunny was determined to do something before the Boogeyman could even think up a new plan to plunge the world into darkness. "Bunny's right. Let's go! There's no time to loose." There was an unnatural high pitch to Tooth's voice. The fairy's wings buzzed at high speed, showing how nervous she was. The memory of the last time the dark spirit captured her faeries still fresh in her mind.

 

" _Niet._ We need to plan this trough, no rushed decisions this time." The bulky Russians' words sound final and no one protests, of course the rabbit still shoots him an annoyed look, but keeping his mouth shut as well. Until now Jack had watched in silence, not thrilled at the idea of even more powerful nightmares at all. The last ones were enough trouble already. Why couldn't Pitch just stay down in his dark lair and leave them be? Or at least try to be a bit less destructive and evil for a while.

 

Santa instructed the guardians to stay around for the time being, until it was clear what the Boogeyman was planning. He sure was afraid of a ruined Christmas, but who could blame him? After the disaster with Easter, all of the guardians would like to avoid a repetition. Bunny agrees to stick around the north pole for now. Sandy and Tooth, having a lot of work and all, probably dropping by now and then to see how North's plan was coming. Since Jack doesn't exactly have anything better to do anyways, he agrees to stay as well. The noisy and chaotic workshop a good distraction to his none too happy thoughts lately. Also, who knows what kind of trouble he'd run into with those nightmares around? Rather not risk it.

 

~.~.~.~

 

So a lot of bickering with Bunny, some elf-made cookies and a short chat with Tooth later, the winter spirit finds himself alone in one of Santa's guestrooms. The big Russian himself being too busy to entertain the guardian of fun. It's dimly lit by some Christmas lights, the red curtains drawn shut. Jack taking in the strange pattern of bells and reindeer on them with a bit of distaste. Nothing against Christmas, but this looks just ridiculous.

With a sigh the youngest guardian flops down on the soft mattress of the neatly made bed. Having a room is a nice change to his usual hanging out in trees, he had to admit. But as soon as his head hit's the pillow, he's regretting his decision to stay.

Why? Easy, he's alone here once everybody's busy with Christmas preparations again. Or forming epic plans to battle a nightmare army. And worse than being alone, being alone inside a quiet, dark room with no distractions whatsoever. No wind to ride, no snowstorm to create, not even a night sky to watch. So he's left to his thoughts once again, and thinking is kind of his least favorite thing to do at the moment. It only results in him mulling over things he does _not want_ to think about. Things like what Bunny had said earlier.

 

Not that there had been any relation to Jack's unspoken questions from earlier, but it still gave him _ideas_. Ideas he _highly_ despised. Like, actually considering the possibility of him together with-

 

"I am _not_ having this thought process. At all." With that said he's pressing the fluffy pillow into his face, to stop his mind from having more retarded ideas. Needless to say that it's not working all that well. Honestly, what's wrong with him? If anything, he should be nothing short of disgusted by the mere idea. Pitch is plain _evil_ , for the sake of it. The only thing he's good for is making children miserable and spreading fear. He's the reason Sandy almost vanished, for crying out loud!

 

Jack hates him with all the passion he can muster, so why for the love of _everything_ isn't he just laughing at the stupid idea of himself together with the Boogeyman? No, instead he's actually contemplating about- … This has to be his mind's weird idea of a joke, seriously.

 

Yeah, maybe Pitch is immortal, just like him. He's not part of the guardians, either. And it's not hard to recall the shudder that ran down Jack's spine when he first met the nightmare king. Back then he thought it was nothing but fear, but when they met again in Antarctica and the strange sensation returned once the dreadful spirit got close to him-… Something's definitely wrong with his head. Seriously, he should probably just try to sleep a little. Take his mind of off... _this_. Whatever this is. And hopefully his messed up brain will be back to normal when he's waking up again. Ah, but knowing his own luck...

 

_~~~tbc._

 

_I recently watched the movie and it was so damn amazing! Sure, would have been better if Pitch had won, but it's a movie for kids, so I guess it was alright that way. Anyways, I just had to write a FF for it!_

_BlackIce, of course. But if you're hoping for some hardcore action in the next chapter out of the blue, I suggest you leave now, because that's not gonna happen. This is a slow burn, and I'm not even sorry for that. :D_

_Also, if you're wondering why my english sucks so much, it's not my first language and I'm still getting used to writing longer stories in english. So feel free to flame me for misspellings and wrong time forms. And of course, to just leave reviews. ^^_

_Shad~_

 

 


	2. Second Chapter: The advice of the moon

****Curiosity and Nightmares** **

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

****Second Chapter: The advice of the moon.** **

 

A soft noise echoes off the walls of a dimly lit room somewhere in Santa's workshop. The few elves who notice the strange blanket of shadow slithering over the floor seconds later, are either too stupid to comprehend what it is, or simply dismissing it as a shadow, nothing more. It _is_ just a shadow, basically. But once it successfully creeps inside one of the guestrooms beneath the door, it changes form to something else entirely. The shallow breath of the nightmare ghosts over the red fabric of the curtains as it nears the bed, a peacefully sleeping and unaware Jack Frost right beside it.

Snorting softly, the creature observes the dancing images of dream-sand above the spirits head. The golden silhouette of a boy, riding the wind undisturbed and carefree. The shadowy horse watches, mildly interested in the guardians' childish dreams. It's pure coincidence that it happened to pass by the North Pole, searching for the sandman. Its master's orders were to keep track of the annoying little guardian, to find out how much he knew about the recent events. But he wasn't here anymore, obviously. The little golden pest was hard to keep track of. So why not stick around for a bit and foil some dreams. She'd gladly repay the annoying little frost boy with some nightmares, for defying her master once before.

 

Just as the tall horse cranes it's neck to taint the golden sand black, the dream changes on it's own accord. That was new to the creature, dreams changing without its venomous touch. Curiosity got the better of the shadow and it referred from turning the dream dark just yet. Instead, she just observes. The scene has changed to a landscape, some lake and a forest. The spirit boy still there, but he's not alone anymore.

 

The mares' golden eyes widen slightly as soon as it recognizes the second figure as that of it's master. Why would this boy be dreaming about the king of nightmares? In a pleasant dream no less? Making no sense at all in the shadows eyes, but it's a patient creature, so why not stick around to find out. Anomalies in dreams are always interesting to witness, after all.

Slender fingers of the dream-Pitch reach out to caress the sand-boy's jawline, drawing him in for a sweet display of affection. As the lips of the golden pair meet, the real frost spirit's fingers grip the sheets a bit tighter.

 

The watching horse is not pleased at all with that turn of events. That was her master, _the_ _herald of fear and terror_ _._ _Not_ the stuff _that_ kind of dreams are made of! Not to mention the fact that the shadows are quite possessive of their king and his rare affectionate touches. These are reserved for the dark creatures only, not for some daring little winter sprite. Smoke trails from flaring nostrils and the calmness of the glowing golden eyes melts like ice in summer. Furious the nightmare rears up, ready to show the spirit just how _real_ bad dreams can become. This insolent, rude brat, insulting her beloved master like that. Oh, how this boy was in for it.

 

Just a second before the thundering hooves hit home does Jack stir. His peaceful slumber disturbed by a feral whinny and angry snorting. Opening his eyes he instantly regrett's his decision. This isn't the thing you want to see first in the morning. With a startled yelp he scrambles backwards on the bed, just in time to avoid being crushed by the horse. The furious mare stomping down on the lower half of the bed, cracking the wood of North's furniture as it misses it's target. Barely so.

 

 _"What_ _the hell_ _-?!"_

It's beyond Jack how he always get's himself into this kind of situations, really. He just went to sleep, not thinking anything bad, then he wakes up again and a nightmare-horse is trying to _kill_ him. Something, somewhere in this big universe must really, really hate him. The creature retreats, only to rise to it's hind-legs again. Oh, not good.

 

The raging beast fixes blazing eyes on the shocked Frost spirit, growling low. Realizing that now would be the time to run, Jack launches himself forward once the mare attacks again. Ungracefully tumbling over the covers, he reaches for the door. But of course the nightmare is faster. Advantage of having four legs, maybe.

 

"Oh, no, no… come on, you don't really _want_ to kill me, do you?" Hands raising in surrender, Jack's eyes scan the room quickly for his staff. Sadly the frost spirits' weapon is out of reach, next to the crushed bed and behind the furious horse. The adrenaline spiking in his blood might do some good, but the fear is rising just as well. Of course he'd be damned to let it show. The horse however seemes to get even more agitated by the second, so his plan clearly isn't working.

 

"Right, you guys can _sense_ fear or something." Backing off farther towards the nearest wall, Jack still holds his hands up in hopes of calming the raging creature. Still no luck, of course.

 

"Now if that isn't just the _perfect_ way to start a new day, _getting trampled by shadows."_ The words are mumbled more to himself than to the pissed off mare. She still hears them, naturally. The horse get's ready for it's next attack and Jack braces himself for the impact of hooves. This one sure is gonna hurt.

 

Luck however seemed to be on his side for once. Right before the creature can strike down once more, the door slamms open. "Oi, what's with all the noise, _Frostbite_?! I'm trying to-" A very annoyed Bunny glares at Jack, realizing quickly that they are not the only ones in the room.

 

" _Whoa."_ The mare whines in agitation, willing to take on both guardians. She's mad enough to take her anger out on both of them, at least. But the Easter Bunny is faster, smacking the horses' muzzle with one of his boomerangs. Instead of crumbling like it should, the beast just backs off a little. Oh, she's not that easy to get rid off. This overgrown fur rag won't get in her way of punishing the brat that easily.

 

"About time you show up, _kangaroo_!" The rabbit just rolls his eyes at Jacks' insult, keeping his attention on the shadow.

 

"What's _that thing_ doing here?" The furry guardian approaches the creature with drawn weapons, successfully chasing it backwards. The frost spirit just shrugs helplessly.

 

"No idea. I sure as hell didn't invite it over." With the nightmare out of the way, Jack reaches for his staff, getting a hold oh his weapon. The shadow now considering her options for a moment, coming to the conclusion that it's probably not worth it. She'll get that stupid boy, but later. So with burning eyes and a low growl the horse bolts for the window. She's dissolving into mist and slipping out into the night through the cracks between glass and wood. Leaving behind a very startled Jack Frost and a bewildered Bunnymund. Shaking his head weakly, the rabbit turns to face his fellow guardian.

 

"Seriously, Frostbite. How do you always manage to get yourself into trouble like that?"

 

"I'd like to know myself. Honestly, what _was_ _that_?" Jack gestures towards the now empty room and the broken bed. Sheathing his weapons, the taller guardian scoffs lightly. "A nightmare, I guess." This time it's Jack's turn to roll his eyes at the stupid answer. Yeah, that much he figurd out himself, really.

 

"And _why_ is a nightmare in my room trying to _kill_ me?" Bunny doesn't seem to have a good explanation for that one either. "No idea, mate. Did you do anything? See anything strange or something?" Jack considers the rabbits' words for a moment before shaking his head.

 

"Nothing. I was peacefully asleep and the next moment that thing is all over me. Seriously, since when are they that aggressive?" Rubbing his chin the Poohka takes a closer look at the window, making sure the offending thing is gone for good. How did it even get in here in the first place? Too many questions and too little answers.

 

"Well, did ya dream anything weird?" A more than uncomfortable feeling washes over Jack at that question. The spirit suddenly very glad that Bunny isn't looking at him directly. That makes it much easier to lie. Fumbling with his staff, he takes a seat on the edge of his destroyed bed. Looking anywhere but at the older guardian. That dream certainly qualifies for weird. On so many levels. Well, talk about awkward.

 

"I can't remember. Nothing special, I guess..." Once the guardian of hope is certain the nightmare isn't coming back, he's turning to face Jack again.

 

"Strange. But it sure confirms our theory about Pitch. He is back, and he's sending his minions after us." The Poohka glares back at the windows still on edge. While the rabbit is clearly unsettled by the latest turn of events, Jack can't help but feel a bit relieved. Not that he would ever tell anybody, heaven forbid, but he did feel kind of bad for the Shadowmancer after his defeat. Only a tiny, little bit. Somewhere, deep down in his twisted little brain.

 

That doesn't change the fact that he hates Pitch wholeheartedly, of course. Just... well, being defeated and dragged down by your own creations does seem rather cruel. Not that Pitch isn't cruel himself, but... well. Whatever.

 

"So, what do we do now?" Jack is glad that his voice doesn't betray his thoughts about the Boogeyman. The older guardian turning to leave the room with a shrug of his furry shoulders.

 

"You heard the old man, _no rushed decisions_ . I'll go and tell North about your little visitor. And we sure could use some more Yeti guards around here. You... just _try_ to stay out of trouble for once, Frostbite. " Not half a minute later is Jack alone again. Slightly annoyed with Bunny for treating him like some pushover and even more annoyed with Pitch for this ridiculous assault. What was that about anyway? Since when is it Pitch's style to get people stomped to death by a horse while they're sleeping? The hell. Shaking his head in bewilderment, the boy takes one last look at the remnants of his bed. Well, a bit of fresh air does sound rather nice right about then.

 

~.~.~.~

 

The chilly wind and the slowly falling snow sure help to calm his nerves. Perched on one of the many roofs of North's Workshop, Jack quietly observes the white landscape. No more nightmares, no army of shadows approaching, and most importantly, no Pitch. So if he doesn't want to attack the guardians and take them out for good, why send this creature to attack _him_ ? And that after such a short period of time after his defeat. Was the nightmare king really back for good already? That couldn't be, he must be still recovering. But why would he risk having his return known by the guardians if he hasn't a sinister masterplan at hand to destroy them already. Jack can't really think of any good reasons. Is the dark spirit _only_ after him now? The thought sends a shiver down his spine, but not in an unpleasant way.

An annoyed groan working it's way up his throat. _"_ _Oh, come on, hormones, shut up..._ _"_ Burying his head in his arms, Jack tries to shove those ridiculous feelings aside. Very, very far aside. The only reason he's having them in the first place, is that Bunny mentioned Pitch earlier. It's all the stupid rabbit's fault. Somehow. Also, he shouldn't bother with stupid things like his own loneliness, he's a guardian now. The children are what's important, not some spirits' feelings.

 

It's not as If he actually _liked_ Pitch anyway, not at all. He was just a bit… confused, that's it. Really. But then again, why did he have this strange dream? It hadn't felt like a nightmare to tell the truth, but it _had_ to be one. He'd never dream anything like this on his own. _Ever._

 

So in the end it's all Pitch's fault, isn't it? His return the reason Bunny even mentioned the name, he sent the stupid nightmare to Jack. Pitch is the sole reason for all of the youngest guardians' problems right now. Or that's what Jack tells himself at least. It certainly is easier to blame the nightmare king than to sort out his own feelings. Feelings he did _not_ want to have in the first place. The boy feels his left eye twitch with slight annoyance.

 

"…when, exactly, did things start to get so complicated?" The question isn't directed at anyone in particular, but something still answers his distressed voice.

The wind combs through snow white hair as if wanting to ease the winter spirits' troubled thoughts. It always has been a trusty companion to Jack, but this time not even his oldest friend can help him. This is something he could only work out with some good advice. Or a hard whack over the head, whichever would suffice.

 

Sighing, he looks up towards the moon, beaming down on him in it's full glory. The sun hasn't had a chance to rise yet, still swallowed by the endless darkness of the pole nights. The guardian of fun pulls his hood up and glares towards the starlit sky. "So, this is your newest plan to make me miserable or something?"

 

It's been quite a while since he last tried to talk to the man in the moon. Waiting, he's twirling his staff between his hands, creating beautiful patterns of frost. Silence is the only thing that follows, though. Ah, so that again. Ignoring people who talk to you is just so very mature, isn't it. Well, screw that. Not that he'd expected an answer, but it still put him off to be ignored once more.

 

"Alright, I get it. The boy got enough problems already, so why not add to the pile. Find more ways to make him miserable. That's great, thanks. Really appreciating it." Grumbling to himself, Jack leans on his staff, still glaring daggers at the silent moon.

 

"What do you expect me to do, hm? Be alone for the rest of for _ever_ and just deal with it?" It somehow occurred to him that he must look pretty stupid to any possible witnesses, standing on a roof talking to the moon. But then again, how high are the chances for anyone to see him up there. Blue eyes gaze at the dancing beams of moonlight, falling on the icy cliffs around him. That's the moment he notices something rather peculiar. Part of the light is centering not too far away, forming a circle on the snow. This time Jack actually get's an answer, but note one he would have liked.

 

The beam of silvery light hits the snowy roof in front of him, forming the silhouette of none other than the king of nightmares. A moment of silent staring, realization right after. _That's_ the advice MiM has to offer? _What. The. Hell._ Jack is fuming by now, grinding the end of his staff into the snow. Screw this, for real.

 

"So _this_ is your idea of a joke? Yeah, real funny." The shape in the beam of light vanishes, but the shine remaines, clearly signaling that MiM's done with this answer. So even the moon wants to make fun of him. Seriously, how much _better_ could this day become? An annoyed grown leaving Jack's lips as he stares up at the leader of the guardians once again.

 

"Great. So either I'm alone for the _rest of_ _ever_ _,_ or get myself _killed_ by Pitch when I ask him out?" The silvery light shifted and flickered a couple of times, whatever that was supposed to mean. How difficult could it be for such a powerful being to just get a simple message across, damn it. The anger and frustration inside the winter spirit spiked tenfold when no useful response came after that.

 

" _Lovely, thanks._ Any other _amazing_ possible options?" The sarcasm was lost to MiM, or he just decided to ignore it. Jack guessed the latter. This time the silver shimmer forms a different shadow, that of Sandy. Jack raises a brow, his expression darkening even more, annoyance clearly written on his features. What. The. Hell...

 

"So, you're telling me to date the _Boogeyman_ , the _Sandman_ _,_ or be a lonely virgin for eternity?" Jack's voice dripping with venom, and if it would have been physically possible he would have blasted MiM with a frost bolt minutes ago. His grip on his staff tightening even more, the wood creaking in disapproval. The shadows displayed in the beam of moonlight now form a single word in response. ' _Basically.'_

 

For a moment Jack just stands there on top of Santa's roof, staring down at that one word. So he _is_ able to communicate that way?! Then why bother with stupid sign language all the time. Why make his damn answers cryptic and strange and _annoying?!_ Honestly, he just wanted to go back to sleep in some tree and forget that the last few hours ever happened. Also, MiM was an asshole. Definitely.

 

Shaking his head, Jack whipes his staff through the snow, making the message of the moon disappear. He looks up one last time, eyes furious beneath his hood. "I hate you, you know?" And if he didn't know any better, he could have sworn the moon was laughing at him. For a moment he thought about calling MiM a few quite nasty things he had picked up from some humans, but decided against it. It would only result in him getting even more frustrated with the happily beaming moon.

 

Fuming, he turned on his heel, leaving the roof, ready to go inside and take some of his pent up frustration out on Bunny, the elves, or anything that was within arms-reach. Or staff reach for that matter. What the _hell is_ MiM even thinking?! He has a really, _r_ _eally_ twisted sense of humor, that much's obvious. Why did Jack volunteer to work for that guy again? He honestly couldn't remember at the moment.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Back inside the giant, glowing building, Jack is met with none other than Bunnymund for the second time that day. But before he can even open his mouth for a witty commentn the rabbit is already talking.

 

"There you are, Frostbite! Listen up, North decided that I should go see Sandy and Tooth. Warn them, in case Pitch tries anything funny." A very grumpy Jack just nods, leaning on his staff. "-and you will try to find an entrance to that bastards' lair while I'm gone. We need to gather information on what he's planning. Report back to North as soon as you are able to locate one. Got it? And no stupid solo missions."

 

Jack's mouth drops open at that, he's supposed to go and _search_ for the Boogeyman? After this whole screwed up nights- and mornings events? No way. He's about to protest, when Bunny has already opened one of his tunnels and is gone. Staring dumbly at the now empty floor in front of him, Jack can't help but wonder if everybody is against him today. Actually, he's pretty sure of it. This is so not his idea of a nice little trip to the pole. Not at all...

 

A stupid giggle next to the brooding spirit alerts him to the presence of a few unfortunate elves. Said elves are frozen solid a tad bit later and Jack is off again. It's not like it would harm them. No brain cells in there to freeze to death. None at all.

 

Riding the wind at least does something to ease his bad mood for a bit, and it helps to just stop _thinking_ so much. He might as well go and find some entrance to the dark realm, maybe he could get some answers out of Pitch. Namely, why he sent the stupid mare out to trample him in his sleep. The other things about MiM and his questionable advice, he would keep to himself for now. Or forever. Maybe he could talk to Santa later and ask him about a possible mental illness of the moon and any solutions to successfully prevent himself from dreaming about Pitch. Or a therapist for spirits, whatever would suffice. He's really in dire need of some professional help, apparently.

 

_~~~tbc._

 

_I just love the thought of MiM teasing Jack. So much fun!_ _Anyway, here is the second chapter, prepare for some more plotty plot in the next one._

_And finally some interaction between Jack n Pitch, yay! (Some. Not much. Sorry. XD)_

_Shad~_


	3. Third Chapter: What lurks in the shadows

****Curiosity and Nightmares** **

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

****Third Chapter: What lurks in the shadows.** **

 

The nervous stomping of hooves on cold stone echoed through the caverns, making the discomfort of the lonely nightmare pretty obvious. The mare stood her ground under the scolding gaze of her master, head held low. All the other shadows kept a safe distance, none of them wanting to side with the poor creature. She knew that she had messed up, big time. The order was simple, keep track of the sandman and don't let him notice you. Not only had the mare been seen by the stupid golden spirit, he tried to chase her away no less, she had as well attacked another guardian in a fit of rage. So much for the simple order not to get noticed. Her master taking a step towards her, raising a pale hand to eye level with the nightmare. She braced herself for the worst.

 

But instead of banishment back into darkness and nonexistence, the mare received a pet on it's black muzzle. Bewildered, the creature stepped back once the Shadowmancer had let go of her. The other shadows and nightmares took this as a sign to come closer, their master obviously in a good mood.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Pitch's voice lacked venom and malice, so the mare figured she was off the hook for now. Nickering softly, she followed her master over to the dark globe, standing beside the nightmare king. Other creatures were rising from the shadows of the lair and followed suit, circling around Pitch. None of them was made of sand this time.

"The guardians would have noticed sooner or later anyways." He absentmindedly traced the edges of the rusty metal the globe was made of, observing the dark wisps of mist trailing around it. They had grown, spreading almost above the whole surface by now. And it looked like they were quite eager to swallow the glowing lights beneath. A sinister smirk appeared on the dark spirits' features.

 

"Just let them know of my return, it doesn't matter." Pitch withdrew his hand from the mist just as it started to envelop his fingers. Hungrily clawing at anything it could reach to consume. The nightmare king placed his hand back on his trusty mare's muzzle, fingers tracing the now solid shadows. "It's not like _I'm_ the one they should worry about right now." They would figure out in how much trouble they are soon enough. The mare next to him gave a soft whine in agreement. Silence engulfed the dark cave afterwards, leaving Pitch to his thoughts. His gaze locked on the dancing trails of mist around the globe. He coudn't help but wonder. How much longer would it take them to swallow this world whole?

 

~.~.~.~

 

Frustrated and pretty much bored to death, a certain frost spirit scanned the landscape beneath, riding the stormy winter wind. It was the third time he flew over the woods around Burgess by now and nothing. No secret entrance reopened, no dark hole in the ground. The thick blanked of snow really didn't help his search, but then again he could only blame himself for that. Why exactly did he decide to create the stupid storm again? It was beyond him, really. Next time he would just fly over to Antarctica or something and create a mess _there_.

Jack's bare feet touched the roof of the building that was closest to the forest. He leaned on his staff, ready to call this ridiculous search off and travel back to the pole. Now if this wasn't a great waste of time. At least he got one of North's snow globes, that would bring him back in no time. But then again, Bunny never said he had to return immediately, now had he? No reason to hurry since he hadn't found anything interesing either way.

Clearly unhappy with the latest turn of events, the spirit decided to pay a little visit to the school nearby, at least have some fun once a day, right? The kids would surely appreciate a day off thanks to the cold. They always did.

 

Freezing street and sidewalk on his way, Jack sent many people stumbling and slipping. That actually did something to lift his mood a tiny bit. But his joy was short lived, once he reached the school building it dissolved into nonexistence. Not a single child was around, the whole area deserted. Was there some holiday he had forgotten about? No, he never forgot the fun things in life. It had to be something else. His curiosity got the better of him and Jack quickly dismissed the uneasy feeling that had settled in his stomach. It probably wasn't anything too bad.

The winter spirit soared down towards the building, time to investigate. The windows were shut, all doors locked. So he needed to search for something outside. And he didn't have to search for long, a note attached to the big front doors explaining the lack of children and teachers.

 

Raising a brow Jack began to read as he floated closer to the door. "- remains closed because of the latest events?" That was new, and also very confusing. What events? What was serious enough to leave the school closed because of it? In a quiet and peaceful town like this one no less? Whatever mission had been given to Jack was quickly forgotten, now he wanted to know what was going on here in Burgess. And what better way to find out than to just ask someone? It was about time he talked to Jamie anyways, since he had been too _busy_ last night. Jack shuddered at the thought, he did not want to recall that right now. So he shook off the annoying images his brain came up with and flew over towards the Bennett-household.

 

~.~.~.~

 

The silence of the lair was disturbed by the whining and groaning of dozens of nightmares and shadows, it was rare to have visitors down there. So the new presence put them on edge, making them nervous and agitated. Their master had noticed the uninvited guest as well, but his attention never left the dark globe. There was no need to be alert, not right now at least. This was his domain after all.No question to who has the advantage here.

 

The mass of nightmares and darkness parted to make way for the strange intruder, leading the ominous being towards their king. Wherever the stranger set foot, the stone floor was still covered in a fine layer of shadows. The dark creatures always ready to take the intruder out if needed, to drag him down into the endless abyss of blackness. But he made no wrong move, no sudden attack. So he was allowed down there, for the moment. In front of the stone stairs leading up towards the platform Pitch stood on, the unwelcome visitor stopped. The body barely held upright, black mist and the stench of decay surrounding the body of what had been a man once.

"Greetings, Pitch. What a pleasure to meet the nightmare king in person.” A sick cracking of bones and the figure looked around the dark cavern with curiosity in his dead eyes.

 

“So those shadows belong to you, hm? Quite the impressive pets." A distorted grin spread on an even more distorted face that had once belonged to a human. By now it started to fall apart, the skin turning sickly gray, dotted with darker spots. A ring of almost black bruises around the neck indicated the way he had died. It was not a pleasant sight at all, the silky voice the puppet spoke with not fitting the rotting body. Turning to face his guest, Pitch mustered him with disdain, clearly not happy about his presence. And the unbearable stench of rot wasn't the only reason for that.

 

"They do belong to me. You however, _do_ _not_ _._ So I suggest you leave this place at once." Pitch's face was blank, his voice low but it held a dangerous edge to it. He knew that this thing was no treat, but that didn't change the fact that it didn't belong into his lair. Nor did he want to have it here. The smooth, dark voice spoke again trough the lips of the stolen body.

"Is that any way to welcome an old friend?" The shadow king mustered the rotting human, raising a brow. "You make it sound like I should _know_ you."

 

It was easy to tell how much Pitch hated to have this conversation. He didn't bother to mask his disgust when the voice started to chuckle low, body swaying as if falling over. He had known the moment this puppet had set foot into his domain that a more powerful, darker being was controlling it. There was something familiar about it, too. But he still couldn't remember where he had heard that voice before. It was rare that his memory failed him, but maybe it was just the unbearable stench that prevented him from thinking clearly. Just how long had this body rotted before it began walking again? Disgusting.

 

"I'm disappointed, nightmare king. Surely you haven't forgotten about _us_?" The rotting corpse spread its arms wide, bones starting to become visible under the stretching, dry skin. The voice picked up in volume, sounding less like one and more like hundreds of them. Pitch's eyes widened for a second as recognition hit him. Yes, this was familiar alright. He tried his best to school his features back to indifference.

So this was the source of the dark energy surrounding the globe? This was the evil that threatened to swallow up all light? The monster that wanted to devour humanity whole. Interesting. But he really had wished for a more _pleasant_ dark spirit to have risen from the realms below. Actually, any other dark spirit would have been better in Pitch's eyes.

 

His features were blank once again when he lifted one arm to beacon his shadows closer. They surrounded the intruder completely, not affected or bothered by rot and decay. Pitch's voice echoed through the many halls and stairways. "How could I ever forget _you._ So you managed to break free? Impressive." The marionette merely nodded, a twisted version of a human smile revealing dirty teeth. "Not just that. I found a way to get access to my old powers as well. They work like a charm on those mortals." Pitch's eyes flickered over the dead body, lips curling down in disdain. "Figured that much."

 

The Shadowmancer lifted one hand, summoning more of his pawns from below. By now all light was swallowed up by the fearlings, the intruder completely surrounded by shades. The only thing that was still visible in the blackness was the shallow glow of Pitch's eyes. "But whatever you want, I'm not interested. So _leave_." Shadowmen and nightmares reached towards the dead body, pulling him under. "So hostile... You'll regret this decision, Pitch." The silky voice called, echoing from the black stone walls. But that didn't stop the dark creatures from their task. They dragged the unwelcome visitor away, leaving their master alone in the caverns. Sadly it took longer for the repulsive scent to diminish.

 

With a sigh the Shadowmancer turned around, facing the slowly spinning globe again. "Why _him?"_ The question wasn't directed towards anyone in particular, a mare still answered with a hollow whine. Apparently she hadn't left with the rest to devour whatever remained of the soul in that puppets' body. Pitch absently patted the large creature's muzzle, watching the mist drift over the continents and oceans. "Out of anyone, it had to be him... The last being of the netherworld I would have liked to see." He fell silent after that, still stroking the mare now and then. Well, things had just taken a turn for the worse, it seems.

 

~.~.~.~

 

A soft knock on his window made Jamie look up from the book he was reading. With a smile he got up from his bed eagerly and walked over to let the spirit in. "Hey, Jack! Been a while." It was easy to tell that the boy was happy to see the frost sprite around, even if most people called him crazy because he still believed in supernatural things. He didn't really mind what his classmates or parents said, so it was fine for him. Jamie dropped back down on his bed, leaving the window wide open. It was no use to try and block the icy chill of winter out with Jack in his room, anyway. The book about haunted houses he'd been reading was shoved to the side, landing on the floor with a soft _thud_.

 

"Hi, Jamie." The spirit floated into the room, taking a seat on the boy's desk, freezing a bottle of coke in the process. The teenager was eager to hear about Jack's newest adventures or anything else the guardian was willing to share, so he started talking again before Jack could even open his mouth. "So, what have you been up to? Anything interesting happened lately? How're the others?" The spirit offered a small smile, he had always liked the idea that Jamie was so interested in him. Normally he would love to share some stories, but today he came here to ask something, not just to kill some time.

 

"Actually, I just happened to fly by and felt like visiting. You know, entertaining some kids at your old school." As soon as Jack mentioned the elementary school of Burgess, Jamie's smile turned into a frown. "So you've been there already?" The white haired spirit nodded, one hand holding his staff while the other froze random pencils and papers around him. Jamie didn't seem to mind much.

 

"So, what's up with it? I mean, they don't just close the school for nothing." The teen on the bed shook his head, uneasily scratching his right arm.

 

"Haven't you heard about it? There's nothing else in the news anymore..." Jack looked at Jamie, waiting for the boy to go on. He wasn't much of a _news_ _person_ and usually wrecking havoc and playing games was more his kind of thing. The teenager seemed to catch Jack's train of thought as he went on. "Some weird things keep happening lately. It's like people just go… insane. Like, they totally loose it from one day till the next." The guardian of fun raised a brow, not really getting what Jamie wanted to tell him. Insane? What was that supposed to mean?

 

"It happened here in Burgess sometime last week too, I think. A teacher on that school just… I don't know, he just went totally crazy out of nowhere." The boy shrugged while he spoke, frown still in place. He hadn't directly seen any of these events, but knowing about it was creepy enough.

 

"He was teaching his class like usual, and suddenly he started acting odd. Like, really weird. He told the class things about… the dead and the underworld, or something." Jamie's gaze was trailing around the ceiling while he recalled what exactly he had read in the newspapers. His parents had also tried to talk to him and Sophie about it.

 

"They found him in the backyard of the school later that day. He had somehow hanged himself. They made sure the kid's didn't notice much, but they closed the school after that. You know, till they figure out what the deal was with him." Finished with his unpleasant story, the boy looked back at Jack, who seemed to be even paler than usual. What was hard to imagine, considering that his skin looked almost white anyways.

 

"It's really messed up, like in those horror movies where people get possessed or something." The teenager got up to grab the remote, turning on his TV. Granted, a formally dressed woman was talking about the mysterious deaths happening all around certain areas of the world. Wait, the world? Not just Burgess? Oh, boy... As much as Jack hated monotonous talking reporters, he forced himself to listen.

 

" _\- has been reported that the corpse is now missing. The local police was unable to explain how anybody could get access to the room the autopsy should take place in. All doors were locked and no signs of-_ _"_ The female voice droned on about the latest incidents while a feeling of dread settle in Jack's stomach. A quick switch of channels. “ _\- unusally high rate of suicides in the past few days. Authorities advice to consult a doctor immediately if you happen to notice changes in-”_ This wasn't good, whatever it was. The other guardians had to know, and fast. Or did they already, and just hadn't mentioned anything? But why would they. This was serious, obviously.

 

It was hard to believe that Pitch had something to do with it, but who else could he blame? Those weren't natural deaths. It sounded like something or someone was taking over those humans, possessing them indeed. And it surely was no coincidence that those strange events started right about the time the nightmares returned. It was the only explanation Jack had at the moment, so he went with it. Gripping his staff tighter, he rose from his spot on the desk, waving goodbye to the confused Jamie.

 

"Sorry, but I have to go. Don't worry, I'll try to fix this. All of us will. Oh, and look out for Sophie!" Without giving the teenager a chance to reply he was already out the window, a harsh wind following in his wake. He needed to tell North and the others about everything he found out, and he needed to do it fast. Whatever it was that was happening with those people, it had to be stopped. _Pitch_ had to be stopped. It didn't feel right to bolt out of Jamie's room like that, but he would return and explain later. Once he had something to offer as an explanation. The human teen would understand.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Jack landed on a roof not too far away, pulling the snow globe out of his hoodie. Ready to return, the spirit gave the town one last look, and just in that moment a dark shadow slipped through an alley only two streets away. The spirits' eyes widened at the sight of the single nightmare, heading towards the forest.

This was his chance! This creature surely would lead him to the entrance of the lair! This was probably his best shot to find out how to reach Pitch's realm. Biting his lip he fiddled with the snow globe for a moment, weighting his options. He knew it was a bad idea to follow, it had been in the past and it certainly was now. But Jack never listened to reason, so he leapt from the roof, sending snowflakes whirling. With high speed he dashed after the retreating shadow, closer to the trees. The wind picked up, helping him to catch up with the creature. It was hard to keep track of the nightmare between the trees and undergrowth, but Jack managed. After a wild chase through half the forest, the shade hauled itself into the maw of a cave. It vanished into the dark between old rock formations and moss. Staff in hand and ready for combat, the winter spirit followed suit, hoping his decision wouldn't get him into trouble this once. But knowing his own luck… Oh well, no turning back now. It was high time he got some answers out of a certain evil spirit.

 

~.~.~.~

 

The nightmare next to Pitch whined softly, scratching her hooves over the stony ground in agitation. She could sense the intruder even before her master would. And she _knew_ that one, too. The others had noticed as well, already luring the guardian down the dark tunnels, towards their master. With slight annoyance the dark spirit turned to face whoever the shadows had captured in his lair this time. He had just gotten rid of the last _visitor_ and Pitch wasn't exactly keen on having guests. His golden eyes landed on Jack Frost a moment later, who stumbled out of a dark hallway. The second the boy noticed that his enemy had spotted him, the spirit raised his staff, ready to attack.

 

Pitch just rolled his eyes, clearly not in the mood for this. "Why does _everybody_ feel the need to come down here today?" With a wave of his hand he dismissed most of the shadows, leaving them to go back to their tasks. They wouldn't be needed to keep the guardian at bay. The angry mare by his side stood her ground, though. Confused blue eyes fixed on her golden ones for a moment, swtiching to her master the next.

 

"Pitch. So you _are_ back." With folded arms and mild interest he watched Jack, knowing that the boy wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him down here. Alone no less. Even if he would, with the power he currently possessed the frost boy was no threat anyway.

"My, aren't you a _bright boy_ _, Jack_. Figured that out all on your own?" The nightmare king cooed, making sure to hit the right tone to push the boy's buttons. His words had the desired effect, frost began do coat the staff, crackling dangerously.

 

"Very funny. What are you up to this time?" The guardian's voice dripped venom but the older spirit didn't seem to mind. Instead of paying the boy much attention, he examined his fingernails. "What I'm up to? But Jack, you make it sound like I'm a _villain_ or something." Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance, tightening the grip on his staff.

"Don't try to play stupid, you know why I'm here." Raising a brow Pitch continued to ignore Jack's anger and the weapon pointed at him. Sly smile right in place while he leisurely took a few steps around his globe. "Do I now?" The Shadowmancer really knew how to set people on edge. The guardian grit his teeth together, Tooth would have shrieked at the sound. It was pretty hard to _not_ let himself get provoked by Pitch, but Jack was determined to get some answers.

 

"What's up with all those people going crazy lately? Is this your newest idea on how to rule the world or something?" The dark spirit just shrugged, one hand trailing over the surface of the giant globe behind him. Fingers grazing over the mist lightly and making the black vapors whirl. "You're giving me more credit then I'm due, frost boy."

"Yeah, _sure._ Because you're so _not_ _evil,_ I get it." The guardian was really starting to lose his patience, but so was Pitch. With a sigh the older spirit shook his head and turned around to face the guardian.

 

"And here I thought you were a bit _smarter than that_ , Jack." The winter spirit grimaced at the comment but didn't interrupt. The horse next to Pitch kept glowering at him and it made him really uneasy somehow. Those things usually weren't this aggressive, were they? As if Pitch's stare alone wasn't hard enough to withstand.

 

"Tell my, why should I force people to go man and kill themselves? Or make them go on murdering sprees?" Pitch pushed the growling mare away slightly, since her glaring at the boy was rather annoying. What did the stupid thing even have against Jack?

 

"I couldn't care less for the well being of those mortals, that much is true. But I _do_ feed off of their fear. They are the source of my powers, in case you have forgotten." Jack lowered his staff a little, listening to the other immortal.

 

"The dead do not feel fear, so what good are they to me, really?" Pitch did have a point there, Jack had to admit that much. It made no sense to kill the people he needed to regain his power. Why would anybody willingly destroy his own power source, after all? Maybe he had been wrong. But what other explanation was there for the strange happenings? Who was the one responsible for this if not Pitch? Jack was determined to find that out right now.

 

"If this isn't your doing, then who is behind it? And don't try to tell me people just suddenly decide to go mad on their own." The spirit was sure he wouldn't get a decent answer to his question, but asking couldn't hurt. To his surprise Pitch seemed quite willing to tell Jack more about the source of the dark energy possessing people. He gestured towards the towering dark globe. Jack noticed the black clouds of mist swim around it, raising a brow in question. Last time that stuff wasn't there as far as he could remember. "What's that?"

 

" _This_ is what you should be after, if you truly wish to protect those mortals." Not that the explanation made any sense to Jack, but at least it was something. So there was some evil dark power at work? Something else that was just as bad as Pitch? And here he thought the nightmare king was the only enemy they had to fight. Well, pretty stupid, now that he considered it. There were so many good or neutral spirits or fae around, why shouldn't there be evil ones as well? But still, this could very well be some stupid trick, so Jack kept his guard up.

 

"So you _do_ know more about this, don't you?" The other spirit just shrugged, turning back to observe the globe. He had almost forgotten how annoying that boy could be.

 

"I honestly don't care much. It's a coincidence that you just happened to be the second visitor down here today." Yeah, that didn't make sense either. Why was it so damn infuriating to have a simple conversation with this man? "And what _exactly_ has that to do with humans mysteriously dying? Some black smoke isn't explaining much, you know." Pitch gave the boy a look, silently asking if he was really that stupid. The guardian bristled under the belittling gaze, silently cursing the shivers being around Pitch sent down his spine.

 

"Well, maybe you understand if I show you what my other guest was _nice_ enough to leave here." With a flick of his wrist, shadows began to rise from the ground next to Jack. The boy stepped back, ready for an attack that never came. Instead, the shadows dropped something next to him before they vanished into the deeper levels of the lair again. It didn't take long for the guardian to make out what they had brought. He quickly covered his mouth with one hand to block the horrible stench of decay out.

 

"What the-?!" His eyes wandered back to Pitch, glaring with all their might. The dark spirit had returned his attention to his precious globe by now. "Don't get the wrong idea here, frost. I didn't kill him. The dead are part of _his_ realm, not mine." Jack started backing up, eager to get the hell out of there as fast as possible. The air around him was suddenly more suffocating, the dampness of the underground lair an unwelcome pressure. Pitch's voice was ringing in the winter spirit's ears while he stared at the ground.

 

"So if you wish to find the one responsible for this-" It wasn't like Jack never saw anything dead before. But it clearly was something else if it was nothing more but rotten, mangled flesh and bones, in the shape of a human. And the stench was unbearable, nearly making him sick. He needed some fresh air. He needed to get out. Now. The guardian looked the mess on the floor over once more before he turned around and fled. Wanting nothing more than to leave the dark lair. His brain currently shut down, leaving nothing but the fight or flight reactions.

 

"-you would be better off searching for the _Lich King_ than for me." He heard Pitch's words echo through the dark maze of tunnels and hallways, while he tried to find his way out. If he would've calmed down a little bit, he might have remembered the snow globe in his pocked.

 

A low chuckle left the nightmare kings lips as he watched the guardian leave. He sure had evoked a delicious kind of fear in the boy just now. And if the guardians knew about the new _visitor_ from below, it saved Pitch the trouble of getting rid of the nuisance himself. Maybe he should drop by the pole to watch those foolish guardians go pale with fear when Jack told them what had happened? Would certainly be fun. Even if the boy didn't know what they were dealing with, the others certainly would. Snorting softly, the mare from before returned to his side, pleased that the frost boy left. She nuzzled her head against the shadowy cloak her master was wearing. Pitch gave her a strange look, having no idea what was even wrong with her.

_~~~tbc._

 

_Whew, lot's of story in this chapter. But I guess I got their new enemy set up nicely. Or at least I hope so. Poor Jack, the universe seems to really hate him. ^^_

_Well, let's see how the other guardians will take his story. And Pitch's presence at the north pole._


	4. Fourth Chapter: Important meetings and unimportant concerns.

****Curiosity and Nightmares** **

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

****Fourth Chapter: Important meetings and unimportant concerns.** **

 

Jack wasn't sure what he had expected once he returned to the pole. Everybody freaking out maybe, terror and fear written on their faces. North making epic battle plans, Tooth flying off to check on her faeries, something along those lines. What he had not expected was laughter. As soon as he landed in the large room with the globe where the rest of the guardians were already discussing the latest events, he started to explain. Not that it sounded very logical how he did it, but the main point came across. Some scary dude called Lich King was randomly killing people. After Jack's little rant about this dead guy and Jamie's old teacher everybody was staring at him. A few moments of silence, and then bunny had stared to laugh. Jack couldn't believe it. What the hell was so funny about _dead people_?!

 

Tooth gave the youngest guardian a worried look before flying over to him. She hovered above the floor right next to Jack, checking him over for possible injuries. "Hush, Bunny!" She scolded the rabbit, who was by now holding his aching sides.

 

"Seriously, Tooth! He must've hit his head pretty hard! Did you listen to him just now?" The Faerie Queen ignored the Poohka's remark. At this point Jack was pretty much pissed off. What the hell was wrong with them? They were supposed to worry about this freaky new villain! Not laugh their furry butts off. This retarded rabbit.

 

The fairy patted his shoulder gently. "Jack, dear, are you feeling alright? Maybe a fever…" He batted her hand away when she reached out to feel his temperature. "What is _wrong_ with you?! What's so funny about this?" His question was directed towards Bunnymund, who was slowly calming down.

 

"Really, Frostbite! Where the hell do you get those ideas from? The Lich King is wandering around, yeah, sure. And I'm a dancing daffodil." Jack glared daggers at the other guardian. "Maybe you should pay attention to something other than _painting eggs_ once in a while. You might have noticed that something bad is going on."

The winter spirit was highly annoyed that no one believed him. Was it so hard to get that he was serious for once? Stupid Poohka. Now North joined the conversation, stroking his beard in thought.

 

"Who told you about that Lich King, Jack?" The old man seemed to at least consider his story to be true. Well, that was something. The youngest guardian turned his back towards Bunny, ignoring him completely. No way to keep his little adventure in the shadow lair a secret now, it seeems.

 

"Pitch." Yeah, maybe that wasn't exactly the answer the others wanted to hear. Apparently the fact that he had met the Shadowmancer was more worrysome to his companions. Bunny frowned, finally done laughing. Tooth was by his side again in an instant. "Oh, Jack! Are you hurt? What did he do? Do you-" Santa put a large hand on the delicate faeries shoulder, stopping her from buzzing around Jack.

 

"You have to give him chance to answer, no?" She blushed a little, laughing nervously before she settled down on the ground again. The frost spirit was glad that someone was finally listening to him, even if he knew that he would get into trouble yet again for ignoring North's orders. "Yeah, about that… I was searching for the old entrance to his lair and somehow happened to come across one of those new nightmares. I decided to follow and somehow ended up down there again." The disapproving look he earned himself from the bearded man made Jack shrink a little. Yeah, no stupid solo missions anymore, he knew that. But he just couldn't help his own damn curiosity. And who knew if he would have ever found the entrance on his own.

 

"I know I should just have come back here and all, but-… well." The youngest spirit shrugged at that, not really in the mood to explain his actions. Bunny just rolled his eyes, by now used to the other spirits annoying nature. "Once I found Pitch, I asked him directly if he had anything to do with the people who go missing. Or insane, or whatever-" He couldn't really recollect everything Jamie had said, but it was enough to grasp the bigger picture. Bad stuff going on and time for the guardians to stop it.

 

"- and that's when he told me to look for a _Lich King_ or something." Once he was finished with his little speech Jack waited for North to respond. The jolly old man looked more than worried right now. The first to speak up was Bunny however. "That's nonsense! We all know it can't be _him_. That nightmare weaver just wants to lead us on." The colorful fairy next to him nodded quickly, still looking a bit panicked. Sandy, who hadn't done much until now began to rapidly flash pictures above his head. Not that they made any sense to Jack, but apparently the others knew what he wanted to tell them. Jack didn't. Well, not that anyone was listening to him anyways.

 

North nodded, turning around to face the large globe with all the brightly glowing lights. "Those are indeed troubling news." The Poohka dropped his ears, expression turning grim while he watched Sandy's little picture show. "So this has been going on for a while? How come we haven't noticed until now?" Toothiana, who clutched a baby faerie to her chest, answered.

 

"Because the ones affected most were adults. It takes a while before children figure out that something is wrong. And Sandy says that it only started to get worse a few days ago. The _deaths,_ I mean." She shuddered while she spoke, gently patting baby Tooth. By now Jack was fed up with not knowing what the Sandman was telling them. But apparently he had noticed that humans were dying under strange circumstances as well. Proving his point, right?

"So, you believe me now?" Tooth bit her lower lip, nodding carefully. "Something is indeed very, very _wrong_. And it's definitely not Pitch this time." At her last sentence Bunny's ears shot up. "Sure it could be him! He's nothing but pure evil. Who tells me that it's not-!"

 

The Poohka was harshly interrupted by a strong beam of silvery light, flashing in from the ceiling. Jack knew by now what the ominous glow meant. Apparently the moon wanted to join in on their discussion. The guardians turned around to watch MiM's message unfold on the stone floor. Jack inwardly noting that the moon seemed rather talk-active lately, after 300 years of _ig_ _noring_ him. _Nice_ guy, wasn't he? But right now probably wasn't the best time to complain about that. He would save it for later. Definitely.

 

A dark silhouette formed; showing a tall figure Jack didn't recognize. A moment later the shadow-man burst into dozens of tiny things, looking like fireflies. The winter spirit raised a brow. Uh, weird guy turning into floating insects. Okay. So, this was supposed to tell him _what_ , exactly? Apparently the moon decided that simple _words_ were too easy once again. So he was back to his cryptic shadow language. Rolling his eyes, Jack looked up at his fellow guardians who all stared at the ground, still watching. After a few more seconds the light vanished, leaving them in the warm glow of Santa's workshop. North said something in his mother tongue, it sounded like a curse to Jack but he wasn't sure. Tooth was buzzing her wings twice as fast as usual, hands pressed over her mouth.

 

Well, they definitely looked shocked, so whatever it was that Manny had told them, it was something bad. Jack assumed that what Pitch had said was true, and this shadow had indeed been the Lich King. Or a lot of tiny insects, whatever would fit better. Was the Lich King a weird insect man? Wow. Would be kinda funny. Okay, what was the point again? Right.

 

"So, that was this ominous king? Pitch was right." The tooth fairy nodded silently. The tall Russian behind them was already shouting orders at the yetis, sending some out to gather information and others to guard the workshop. Bunny hurriedly followed the old man, complaining about this or that. While the two guardians stormed off towards wherever, Tooth cried out, almost giving Jack a heart attack.

"We have to check on the others!" She was talking to baby tooth, who hurriedly nodded her tiny head. Both flew from the large meeting room in record speed. That left Jack alone with Sandy, who was obviously the only one who even _tried_ to explain anything to the winter spirit. With lots of funny golden sand signs. Yeah, very helpful. Jack raised both hands. "It's not like I understand _anything_ , Sandy. You know, I can't really read sand language stuff."

 

The small golden guardian stopped with the signs, a frown on his face. Then his features suddenly lit up and he zoomed out of the room on a golden cloud. That left the confused frost spirit standing there like some idiot, being the only one who had no idea what was really going on. Dumb giggling somewhere behind him showed that he wasn't _completely_ alone, but it wasn't like the elves were any good company. Currently they were trying to throw one of their fellows onto the giant globe. Err... okay. This was rather frustrating, actually.

 

~.~.~.~

 

"Yeah, sure. Just _ignore t_ he guy who gathered the information in the first place." Jack crossed his arms in annoyance. He wasn't talking to anybody in particular but something tugged on his hoodie in response. Looking down he saw Sandy, back from his little journey to _god-knows-where._ He waved an old looking leather bound book in front of the youngest guardians face. Books, one thing the spirit of fun never had patience for. He grabbed the stupid thing anyways, since Sandy obviously wanted to show him something. Once Jack took the book from him, the sandman waved his goodbye and was off to listen to Santa's and Bunny's plans or something. The only remaining guardian mustered the old book in his hands with distaste. Was he supposed to _read_ the whole thing? No way, too many pages for that! But what other choice did he have, really? And why did Sandy give him a book to begin with? Evil bad guy was killing people and he was supposed to read? Well, that sure would make a difference and save lives alright...

 

With an annoyed sigh Jack dropped the book on a nearby table after he shoved some toys to the side. Letting himself sink into a comfortable plush chair, he flipped through some of the yellowish pages. How old exactly was that thing? Most of the pages were just plastered with tons of boring text, the few pictures he found showed different kinds of spirits and demons. Basically everything one could find in the nether world. Nothing Jack had bothered with before. Sure, he knew that there were other realms, not just the world of the mortals. But then again, why should he have cared? The only part of the netherworld he's ever been to was Pitch's lair. And he was thankful for that, according to the book almost everything down there was far less pleasant than some dark cavern filled with obsidian stone and old metal cages.

 

The book explained a lot about the different realms, their inhabitants and such. Nothing Jack was particular interested in, so he just skipped most parts. Until he came across the realm of the dead, that is. There was the same tall figure stretching over the page that MiM had shown them before. The frost spirit began to read a few passages.

 

So the weird Necromancer who was ruling over the realm of the dead was called the Lich King? Well, that explained the disgusting lump of rot in Pitch's lair. Jack shuddered when he recalled the twisted body, flipping to the next page. It would take him ages to forget the sight again.

 

A picture showing the evil dark spirit dissolving into a dozen glowing dots was depicted next, much like the image Manny had shown them. But according to the book those weren't fireflies but souls he had gathered. Jack grimaced at the thought.

 

"Okay, that's creepy." The rest of the text was just some history stuff about the Necromancer, how he tried to take over the other realms before. Creating an army out of the damned souls. That he was highly unpleasant in general and therefore had been imprisoned and stripped of his powers. In the book it sounded quite final, so how could that freaky guy come to the mortal world at all? And what did he even want here? It wasn't like this realm really possessed any powerful sources of magic or energy. Aside from the limited amount of spirits and fae that lived here, there wasn't that much to gain from taking it over. Well, unless he wasn't after this kind of power. Maybe he just needed some more… _recruits_ , for his next try to take over other realms of the world below.

 

Jack shuddered at the idea, all humans turned into walking corpses, their souls absorbed by that creepy king. Nothing the guardians could allow to happen. The humans were their only reason for existence, after all. They had to defend the mortal world against that monster! But that meant, unfortunately, fighting a bunch of dead bodies. And a weird dark spirit turning into black mist and stray _souls._ Yeah, so _not_ his kind of thing. With a sigh he closed the dusty book, leaning back and stretching his sore muscles. Only the dim Christmas lights shone around him, even the elves had left the room by now.

 

"Couldn't it be someone else trying to take over the world? Why some weird _I-summon-dead-people_ guy? Why not something less... gross?" A sour look was directed towards the old tome. “I didn't sign up for this.”

 

"Life isn't fair, I guess." The white haired spirit jumped, almost falling out of the plush chair. Grabbing for his staff, Jack struggled to get up as fast as possible, weapon ready to strike. He turned towards the source of the voice, only to face-… nothing. With a grim expression he put the staff back down, searching the large room.

"Come on, Pitch. Not funny!" His eyes scanned the shadows, waiting for the nightmare king to show himself. Of course he was still facing the wrong direction when the voice spoke again.

 

"Well, I find it quite entertaining to watch you." Jack turned around, meeting the glowing gold eyes of their long time enemy. The way he spoke made the younger spirit shiver. Pitch was seated on the work bench behind Jack, holding the book the winter sprite had been reading just now and examined the old cover.

 

"You do realize how _creepy_ that sounds, right?" Pitch either didn't mind the witty remark or simply decided to ignore it. “Don't see anything wrong with it.” Jack leaned on his staff with an annoyed sigh, whatever Pitch had come for, it wasn't to fight. So there was really no need to be on guard around him right now. They were in North's workshop after all, surely the Shadowmancer would like to avoid an attack by all five guardians.

 

"Well, why are you here, anyways?" The dark spirit placed the old book back on the work bench, focusing his attention on Jack. "To see how they would take the news, of course." A malicious smile spread on his features as Pitch gestured towards the door Bunny and Santa had just left trough. Their loud talking and Bunny's shouting now and then could still be heard. Jack just rolled his eyes, so he just came to witness the other guardians freaking out? Well, if that wasn't a _nice_ reason to visit.

 

"That's the only reason you even told me in the first place, isn't it?" Pitch ignored the biting edge in the other spirits words, he just shrugged it off. "Mostly, yes."

 

It was unbelievable to Jack how someone could be this annoying all the time. Every word Pitch said was either to provoke him or make him angry. It really, honestly, was beyond Jack how he could even _consider_ him to be anything else than their enemy. And it was even _more_ unbelievable that Manny had suggested something like that. The Moon clearly had gone mental.

 

Jack kept a safe distance between them while glaring at the dark spirit. "Lovely, thanks for the heads up then." The words dripped with sarcasm. "But if you're here already you can just as well tell me what's up with that insane summoner guy." Not that he actually expected the other to answer, but who else was there to ask? Pitch seemed to think about it for a moment, his fingers brushed the cover of the book next to him. He saw no harm in letting Jack in on a bit of his knowledge. No reason to let the poor boy die stupid.

 

"Basically just that, he's insane. And has a weird hobby of collecting dead things…" For the briefest of moments Pitch's features showed a hint of disgust, but it changed to blankness again pretty fast. Jack shook his head in disbelieve. "If it was just that, he wouldn't make the others freak out like that. So what's the deal with him?" Some crazy old guy who did nothing but collect dead stuff and souls wouldn't be that dangerous, now would he.

 

"Well, he does plan to take over the realm of the mortals, maybe…" The dark spirit showed absolutely no signs of sympathy for the humans. "- and would like to turn them all into mindless walking corpses, I guess. But then again, as I said, he's insane." Jack couldn't believe how Pitch could be so calm while saying things like that. The grip on his staff tightened, his knuckles turning white. This guy was just unbelievable.

 

"So, you don't care that he is about to wipe out the humans? Who are, mind you, your power source as well?" The expression of the nightmare king shifted at Jack's words to clear distaste.

 

"That would indeed be a problem, but I never said I think he would actually _succeed_ with his ridiculous plan." The white haired guardian twirled his staff, taking a few steps towards the work bench Pitch was seated on. "So you expect us to take care of it while you just ignore that crazy guy?" A clearly pleased smile formed on Pitch's lips, golden eyes fixed on Jack.

 

"Looks like you figured out my epic plan, frost boy." The dirty look Jack directed at him made the older spirit chuckle. He dissipated into shadows, only to re-appear standing behind Jack a second later. "Why, Jack. You look rather upset? Loosing trust in your fellow guardians already?" The winter spirit did his best to pay the teasing words no heed. He turned around to face Pitch once more, who was uncomfortably close by now. But stepping back would only mean showing weakness, so the boy stood his ground. Even if it made his body heat up uncomfortably.

 

"For somebody who hates our guts you're putting a lot of trust in the guardians. What if we can't stop him? What if he actually goes through with his stupid plan?" Jack had to look up to meet Pitch's eyes, he really hated how short he was compared to the other spirit. He should have died some years later, when he was at least a head taller. Or maybe Pitch was just too tall.

The other immortal seemed to consider his words for a moment, the long shadows of his cloak silently slithering over the floor. They had multiplied since their last fight, all in all the dark king looked a lot more intimidating by now. The room appeared to become twice as dark as it was before with Pitch there. Jack couldn't suppress the shudder that ran down his spine as he took in the others appearance. Yeah, he was so not supposed to stare at him like that right now. What was wrong with his brain? The silky voice of the dark being called Jack back from his thoughts.

 

"As much as I hate to admit it, you might be right." While he spoke Pitch broke their eye contact and began to circle around the winter spirit. "It's not like a few _plastic toys_ and f _aeries_ could take down an army of the dead. Or don't you agree?"

 

Ghostly fingers traced over the teens shoulder from behind, almost not touching him at all. Jack tried not to move, not to act like he was the scared lamb and Pitch the big, bad wolf. But it was _really_ hard to ignore the close proximity of the Shadowmancer and concentrate on his words instead. Spoken in a much too smooth and silky voice. Maybe the constant cold wasn't that good for Jack's own brain cells? He was beginning o worry about his own mental health.

 

"Well, maybe I should take matters into my own hands, after all." The voice lowered, sounding much darker when Pitch evaporated into shadows once again. Jack kept telling himself that the dark spirit only wanted to scare him, to evoke some kind of fear in him. That there was really no imminent danger at the moment. But no matter how much he tried, it didn't work. At all. And mixed with the spike of fear and thrill of adrenaline rushing through his veins, was that strange tight feeling in his stomach. He really, really hoped the other immortal would just leave. On the other side, he desperately wanted him to stay. Which was the most ridiculous thing he could hope for.

 

"Sadly, I won't be able to take the Lich King down on my own, either." Jack almost jumped when the other reappeared in front of him, how he hated this _teleporting-trough-shadows_ thing. This time he couldn't help but step back a little, raising his staff. But at least the little shock had brought his mind back to focus on the topic at hand.

 

"Why not? You're definitely stronger than before somehow." The shadow spirits' answer was a devious smile. Yeah, talk about smug. What a bastard.

 

"That might be true, but he is… let's just say, different. There was a reason the high court of the netherworld had him banished, you know? They don't just strip a king of his powers for fun. Even I couldn't beat his army with nothing but shadows and fearlings."

 

Jack didn't know. Actually, he hadn't known anything about the dark realms and their system of law. He was surprised they even had one. But apparently this guy was much worse than Pitch, otherwise the Shadowmancer would rot in banishment somewhere underground as well. And he had to be strong, why else would the nightmare king admit that he couldn't beat him? This situation was getting worse by the minute. What could the guardians do with a bunch of yetis and Easter eggs against magically summoned walking dead? They were pretty much screwed, weren't they?

 

"So, what, exactly, do you plan to do now? Wait till he kills everyone and we all cease to exist because our power sources are wiped out?" The boy crossed his arms, staring up at the older spirit. Pitch seemed to consider his options when a door burst open with a loud crash. Bunnymund walked in, pretty furious. Jack's eyes widened for a second and he turned around to face the now open door. Biting his lower lip he mentally prepared for the rabbit to freak out and throw boomerangs at the Shadowmancer. No such thing happened however.

 

"Frostbite, there you are! North decided to call this meeting off for now. _I honestly can't believe him_! We need to do something, and fast!” The older guardian threw his paws up in frustration, stomping into the room.

“But whatever, let the old man figure out _amazing_ battle plans first. It's not like the enemy grows stronger in the mean time or something. Tsk!" Pretty confused Jack turned around again, only to find Pitch gone. Looks like he was smart enough to disappear before the Poohka could see him. Thank the gods, a fight with Pitch was the last thing Jack wanted right now.

 

Focusing his attention back on the raging Bunnymund, Jack stepped out of the rabbit's way. Trying to avoid the bigger guardian getting even more pissed off. He asked a question he hoped wouldn't make the other start screaming again. "So, what do we do now?"

The large ears twitched in irritation, features turning grim. " **_Nothing!_ ** We just stay here and keep our guard up.” That was a plan the Easter bunny clearly didn't agree with. At all.

 

“The old man will inform us once he gathered more information and made some plan. And we will twiddle our thumbs while we wait." The younger spirit simply nodded, watching the furry guardian stomp away. Man, that sure was one angry rabbit. And here the guardian of fun had thought it was always him who wanted to rush into stupid battles. For a moment Jack couldn't help but wonder if Bunny would really stay and wait. Large doors slammed shut a second later and silence returned.

 

For the second time that night in the workshop Jack was left alone standing in the enormous room like some idiot. He had a feeling he would be forced to get used to this, soon.

 

_~~~tbc._

 

_And here we go with the 4th chapter. Looks like there isn't that much they can do but team up. If they don't kill each other before they manage to do so, that is. It's not rid of spelling mistakes yet, but I wanted to upload it anyways. I might change the file later this week to get all the errors out._

_Shad~_

 


	5. Fifth Chapter: A common enemy.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

**Fifth Chapter: A common enemy.**

 

This was so not how he had planned his day to go. Sitting lazily in some tree, creating a few nice snowflakes and enjoying the peace and quiet of his lake, that was what he wanted to do. But sadly most of the time things didn't go as Jack Frost had them planned. So instead of snow and refreshing cool wind brushing against his skin, the only thing touching him right now was some retarded little elf. It took all of Jacks' willpower and self-control not to hit the little bugger with his staff. As if it wasn’t hard enough already for him to listen to Tooth’s frantic chattering and Bunny's grumpy monologue about how he could be kicking some butt right now instead of sitting in North's workshop. With an annoyed groan the winter spirit shoved the elf off of the fluffy plush couch he was currently laying on, finally getting rid of the creature that had been poking his leg for at least ten minutes now. Seriously, _everything_ seemed to try to grant on his nerves today. No exceptions.

 

Jack's mood hadn't really improved since he was left alone last night after the little chat with Pitch. Well, he knew _what_ kind of devious evil was about to destroy humankind now, but that wasn't great news, really. And fighting some crazy undead guy and an army of dead people wasn't that high on the fun guardians list of things he liked to do either. Of course he was still stuck in Santa's workshop as well, so nothing to take his mind off of the unpleasant revelations of the last night. All in all things looked quite grim for Jack Frost, not to mention that he still had to talk to North about the weird message he received from the man in the moon. Although the boy wasn't so sure if he really wanted anybody to know about the things MiM had said. Not like anyone would believe him if he told them the moon could actually use _words_ and just decided to be an ass about his messages...

 

A wet sensation on his bare feet shook Jack out of his daydreams, the spirit now glaring daggers at the elf. The little nuisance had crawled back up on the couch and instead of poking Jack, it was now licking his toes. “Alright, you asked for it.” A quick flick of the wrist and Santa's helper was frozen solid, clattering to the ground. The sound made Tooth turn and look at Jack, finally acknowledging that he was even there. With buzzing wings and ruffled feathers she zipped towards him.

 

“Oh, Jack! When did you get here?” A raised eyebrow and a blank look was the only answer he gave her. He'd been lounging around here for at least half an hour and no one had even noticed. Some _nice_ friends he had there. She didn't seem bothered by his lack of response at all. “What are you doing here anyway? We need to be prepared for any possible attacks, you should practice your skills or organize the defenses of the north pole, or-“

During her little speech her eyes lost focus of Jack, going back to all the tiny faeries fluttering around her. Before she even finished her sentence she was back to giving orders, being even more of her jittery and nervous self than usual. The rise of this Lich guy really did a number on Tooth, she even almost flew into a wall once or twice while Jack had been watching her. If she would have been a mortal still, she would've died from walking in front of some random car long ago, Jack was sure of it.

 

With a tired sigh the guardian of fun rose from his comfortable place on the couch, realizing that he wouldn't get much of a decent conversation here anyway. So might as well leave the queen of the faeries and the angry rabbit to themselves. They sure knew what they were doing and how to deal with this necromancer guy. They had been guardians ages before Jack, after all, so let them do all the planning and organizing. Unfreezing the elf on the ground while he walked out of the room, Jack wondered what else there was to do to entertain himself with. Sure he would like to help creating awesome battle plans or learn some amazing ice spells to fight the undead monster guy with, but then again he had no idea how he should manage that. Since nobody even bothered to give him any useful information about the new villain, or how to fight him, what could he do? Just make things up and hope it works once he finally gets to meet that scary dude in person? Rush in and hope for the best? Yeah, that would sure help _a lot._

 

~.~.~.~

 

Annoyed with the other guardians and their lack of interest in him, Jack just wandered through the halls of the workshop. If they had a task for him or wanted the winter spirit to get involved in any of their plans, they would surely tell him. So until that happened he might as well look around for a bit. Unfortunately, there wasn#t that much interesting stuff to see, some yetis here and there busy with whatever it was they were doing, some elves being their generally stupid self and a lot of toys scattered in almost every room Jack came across. Why did he want to break into this place so bad again? Sure, it was nice to have a look, but after being stuck here for almost two days it got boring as hell. Especially when there were so much more useful things out there to do. Like tracking down the enemy, or protecting the children. But who was he to argue with North about their strategies? It's not like Jack had fought against many horrible villains threatening the existence of humankind. In fact, so far he hadn't encountered a single one. So maybe it was the best choice to just stick around the workshop and stay put. Even if the guardian of fun hated every minute of it. It just wasn't in his nature to be stuck with doing nothing.

 

Swirling his staff about and freezing this or that, the youngest guardian made his way through another hallway when he suddenly had the weird feeling of being watched. Jack slowed his steps, gripping his staff tighter. Ignoring the feeling wasn't helping at all and after a few minutes and two hallways later it was still there. Whatever it was that was following him around, it made him uneasy; so it could be nothing good. Taking a deep breath and preparing to strike with an ice bolt, he whirled around.

The end of his staff was almost touching the black muzzle of a nightmare that had materialized out of the shadows behind Jack. With a startled yelp the winter spirit took a few steps back, still pointing his staff at the mare. He hadn't expected that thing to be _this_ close. The glowing eyes bore into him, one hove stomping down threateningly. He had the distinct feeling that he knew that creature already. “Oh, come on, not _you_ _again..._ ”

 

Jack already had his share of horse attacks for now, he could do just fine without another one, thank you very much. But the black nightmare didn't attack him, in fact, it didn't do _anything_ but stare at him. For minutes. Jack slowly lowered his staff a bit, mustering the mare with a cautious gaze. Okay, that was new. Wasn't this thing going to try and trample him like the last time? Apparently not, but the penetrating gaze of the nightmare still made Jack shiver. Yet he and Pitch hadn't parted on fighting terms, so why was that thing here?

 

“Alright… can you, like, just go away? I'm not really in the mood for a fight right now.” He didn't think the horse would listen to him, really. But asking nicely had never hurt anyone before. Of course the shadow mare didn't move one bit. Groaning in frustration Jack lifted his staff, swinging it at the shadow In hopes of making it vanish. It did, to avoid the blow. Then it was back just as solid. And it was still glaring daggers at the guardian of fun. Okay, _not_ cool.

 

“What is your _problem_ , huh?” The white haired spirit was slowly losing his patience with the mare. The thing was creeping him out and he wanted it to leave him alone for the sake of it. But apparently luck wasn't on his side. After a few more blows and a layer of frost coating the floor the nightmare was still there, having successfully avoided every single attack. The spirits expression darkened, clearly not amused. How come his situation seemed to get worse by the minute? With a low whine the shadow beast took a another step closer to Jack.

 

“What the hell? Just _leave_!” He was now outright shouting at the dark horse, while said horse was totally unimpressed and still very much _there._

 

“Ugh, seriously? What is _wrong_ with you stupid things lately? Don't you have anything better to do?” He got no answer, the horse standing right in front of him, glaring. Fed up with the retarded creature Jack just turned around. If that stupid beast wouldn't leave, he would. He was annoyed enough with his current stay in the workshop, the last he needed was this thing staring him down. After a few steps Jack looked over his shoulder, just to see if the nightmare would go away. To his uttermost displeasure it kept following him.

_Where. Ever. He. Went._

 

_~.~.~.~_

 

A few hours later a brooding spirit sat on the bed in one of North's guest rooms, not two feet away stood the mare. _Glaring_. In fact, the thing hadn't stopped that, at all. Not a single time. And Jack was so close to _exploding_. He had to avoid the other guardians all day because of the creature, he didn't want to upset them even more. So he was stuck here and _alone_ with a shadow for hours. How he hated this stupid, retarded horse! Why couldn't it just crumble like the sand nightmares had? Or find anything else to do? The boy had tried to hold the nightmares stare, for about half an hour. That thing didn’t even blink, not a _single time_!

 

It was granting on Jacks nerves so very, _very_ much. Hell, by now he even considered calling for Pitch, just so he would make this thing go away! But then again, that probably wouldn't work, even if the curtains were drawn shut and the room had plenty of shadows to teleport through. But maybe… having to deal with the nightmare king was not even half as annoying as having this horse around all the freaking time! So if he just tried it, it wouldn't be that bad. Most likely the dark spirit wouldn't show up at all. Yeah, trying couldn't hurt. With a last death glare towards the persistent horse, the reason he had to stoop so low as to ask for Pitch’s help in the first place, Jack turned towards the shadows. Unsure about what he should say, he just tried with the first thing that came to mind, the Shadowmancers name.”Pitch. You can hear me, right? We need to talk.”

 

For a moment nothing happened and Jack felt rather stupid for talking to a dark corner of the room. Yeah, so much for _that_ epic idea. With a groan he turned back towards the bed, letting himself fall onto the soft mattress. Nothing seemed to work out for him today, and he was running out of ideas. Was he stuck _forever_ with this thing following him around now? Turning his gaze towards his unwanted companion he noticed that the mare hadn't moved a centimeter. “Just _great_ …” Oh how he wished that last two days were nothing but a bad dream...

 

“Missing me already, _Jack_?” The silky voice made the white haired boy jump, sitting upright on the bed and looking around the room frantically. Hands quickly grabbed the staff out of reflex, even if he had been the one to call for Pitch in the first place. The dark spirit stepped out of the shadows, his long cloak slithering over the ugly plush carpet. His presence alone made the room seem so much more menacing. Jack rolled his eyes at the smug grin on the other spirits lips.

 

“Yeah,as if...” Maybe he had been wrong and the horse wasn't _that_ bad, at least it didn't mock him all the time. But it's staring was unnerving and creepy. Well, if Jack was lucky _both_ would leave him alone soon enough.

 

“Then why, pray tell, did you call for me?” With his golden eyes locked on Jack, Pitch failed to pay the rest of the room much attention. The mare that had bowed her head gracefully at her masters' arrival wasn't too happy about that. Her beloved creator didn't even acknowledge her! And all that just because of this dreaded, inferior little winter sprite. Oh how she _despised_ him. Should the brat just wait, he would get the most horrid nightmares the next time he went to sleep, she would make sure of that! And she had time to wait for him to fall asleep. Lot's of it...

 

“Don't act like you don't _know_ , Pitch. You're the one who keeps sending these _things_ after me!” Gesturing towards the black horse Jack glared daggers at the Shadowmancer. With a raised brow Pitch mustered the fuming mare that stood near the window. Had she been there the whole time? Oh well, maybe he should pay more attention to his surroundings and less to the frost boy. Not that he paid him that much attention at all, he was just very… distracting _._

 

“Now, would you be so kind as to remove _that_ from my room? As much as its _fun_ to have around.” Jack's words dripped with venom as he gestured towards the shadow beast again. Pitch turned back towards the frost spirit, ignoring the horse once more.

 

“Don't give yourself too much credit, frost.” Pitch shrugged, paying more attention to his nails than to Jack while speaking. “I wouldn't order my servants to keep constant watch on you. You are not _that_ important or interesting.” Jack rolled his eyes again at the aloof tone the other was using, like he couldn't care less about the things Jack said. Which was probably true. The guardian of fun couldn't keep the annoyed tone out of his voice. “If you didn't send it, then why is it here?”

 

“I wouldn't know. Maybe she _likes_ you.” Flashing Jack a sharp toothed grin Pitch leaned against the wooden table on the other side of the room, enjoying the completely pissed off look on the teens face. The guardian gripped his staff tighter, clearly not sharing Pitch's idea of a joke.

 

“ _Very_ funny. So I'm assuming you don't have _anything_ to do with that thing trying to trample me in my sleep last night either?” The look Jack gave the other made it obvious that he didn't believe that, at all. But to be honest, the king of shadows had no idea what the frost boy was talking about. The angry snorting of his nightmare proved his words to be true, though. So she had attacked him and was now lurking around his room? That was odd, none of his mares had done anything like that before. Not without his command. This one seemed to dislike the boy quite a lot, although Pitch had no idea why. With a flick of his wrist he made the furious horse vanish back into the shadows. Sending her to the lair was probably the best choice. He would have a serious word with her later. “Of course I didn't. Why, Jack, you know I would _never_ harm you.”

 

With those words and a wicked smile the nightmare king took a seat on the table he had been leaning against, crossing his legs. The looming presence of the older spirit making Jack's body tense up. The death grip on his staff turned his knuckles even whiter than usual. How Pitch managed to push his buttons so much was beyond him, and it was so damn annoying.

 

“Now that this little distraction is out of the way, why don't we talk about business, hm?”

Knowing it would be futile to try and argue with the evil spirit that it had _indeed_ been his fault he got attacked, Jack let it slide. What good would an argument with the infuriating Shadow King do for his already strained nerves? Right, none. And besides, nobody else seemed willing to share some information about the Lich guy with him. Sad, that he had to turn to an enemy for details, but what other choice did he have.

 

“Whatever. So, any useful advice on how to beat _Mr. Big Bad and Evil_?” Jack leaned back against the headboard of the bed, not needing to keep his guard up right now. Apparently the Shadowmancer was more into getting him riled up than fighting him lately. The frost spirit wasn't sure which one he should prefer. Pitch shook his head disapprovingly, explaining to the teen like some would to a five year old.

 

“Why, if I knew how to beat him, what would I need the guardians for?” The white haired spirit gave the Boogeyman a look, letting him know that he wasn't in the mood for his games right now. Not that it would stop Pitch from _playing_.

 

“Having you around has to be good for something, so there's anything else you'd like us to know about that Lich King?” Pitch ignored Jacks biting tone once again and just shrugged. The long shadows of his cloak trailing over every surface they could reach, painting the room with black. It looked almost like ink spilling over the awful Christmas themed furniture. It tainted the little reindeer ornaments and swallowed the colorful lights adorning the walls.

“If you insist on hearing old tales...” Blue eyes curiously followed the threads of darkness, watching them snake their way closer to the bed Jack was sitting on. They better not be getting up there.

 

“It's a rather long and boring story, so let me try to cut it short so even you will be able to follow.” Another glare was directed Pitch's way, the dark spirit brushing it off with a grin.

 

“He used to be a king of the netherworld, ruling the realm of the dead. But he got a bit carried away by his tasks, instead of bringing death to those whose life was about to end, he wanted to bring it to _everybody_.” Slender fingers trailed over the wooden desk in North's room, drawing the outline of a tall figure. Blackness rose from the lines Pitch had traced and formed a shadow of what Jack recognized as the Lich King by now.

 

“So instead of watching over the realm of the dead like he should, he made it his goal to turn all living beings in every world he could find into minions of his.” The floating shadow stretched spindly arms wide, raising a mass of dark shapeless creatures before it. The winter spirit watched Pitch's moving shadows with interest while listening. It reminded Jack a lot of the things Sandy formed with his dream sand, only much more sinister.

 

“Instead of putting the dead to rest, he consumed their souls and took command over their bodies.” The shadow version of the Necromancer opened its mouth and swallowed the little things floating around it like a black hole. By now the youngest guardian recognized those to be souls. If that wasn't creepy as hell Jack didn't know what. The shadowy minions spread out like a endless ocean in front of the Lich Kings figure. The more souls he absorbed, the more undead would rise under his command.

 

“With his new army ready, he wanted to bring down the other realms of the netherworld and take them over. He went the bad kind of crazy back then. He was deemed to dangerous to exist, and so the court of the netherworld ripped his powers from him, banishing him into oblivion.” Wailing and thrashing around the shadow-version of Lich King had all the souls sucked back out of him, crumbling to a pathetic mass of fabric and bones on the ground. After that, the remains were thrown into what seemed to be an endless dark abyss. Pitch whirled his pale hand through the images he had created for Jack, making them vanish.

 

“He was left to rot in a rather unpleasant part of the world below, his powers sealed away for eternity.” The guardian of fun rolled his eyes at that. Yeah, nice eternity that was. It lasted till a week ago and now that mad guy was here in the mortal world wrecking havoc. Just _great._

 

“But apparently something went wrong. He escaped, somehow. So now you and that bunch of so called _guardians_ have to prevent him from taking over the mortal world or all of you, along with humankind, will cease to exist.” Pitch explained all this like he would tell a fairy tale to children, voice calm and smooth. One would never guess the dark spirits' own existence was at stake as well after hearing his story. How he managed to keep so calm all the damn time was beyond the winter spirit. Jack took a deep breath, shaking his head weakly.

 

“So we have to fight a crazy guy who almost took over the whole netherworld and his army of undead. Alone.” Pitch cringed a little at those words. Yeah, that was the part he was hoping to avoid. As much as he hated to admit it, but it looked like he would have to _help._ It's not like he could trust those idiotic happy go lucky guardians to protect his most important source of power. If humanity vanished, he would have to search for a new source all together, and that could cost him decades for all he knew. So in order to avoid a rather unpleasant period of time without any significant powers, he had to… _team up_. With the _guardians_. The very beings he despised most in this whole mortal world. Now if that wasn’t going to be just _amazing…_

 

“That would indeed be a problem, since I don't believe you'd survive a five minute fight with him. Not even speaking about the undead army here.”

Jack shot the Boogeyman a dirty look, how incapable did Pitch think they were? They did defeat him after all, even if that was sheer luck or just the fact that the nightmare king didn't put much effort into winning in the first place. Still, it's not like Jack hadn't proven that he could fight. So how much worse than an army of nightmares could an army of undead be, really? Aside from the unbearable smell. And the fact that the sight alone made him nauseous. They would sure find a way to win. Somehow. Hopefully... Or maybe they did need some help.

 

“If you're so sure that we will lose, then why aren't you doing something useful for once and help us?” Well, at least now Pitch didn't need to suggest it anymore. That made it a little bit less awful to agree to a temporary truce. And besides, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have a legit reason to spend more time around the frost boy. His reactions to Pitchs' actions were always so precious, and he managed to evoke a delicious kind of fear in the boy as well.

 

So with a wicked grin and a snap of his fingers the Shadowmancer had vanished. Jack sat up on the bed instantly, looking around the room. That wasn't the answer he had expected when telling Pitch to do something useful. The winter spirit stood, eyes searching the shadows. Just in that moment the dark spirit appeared right in front of Jack, startling the young guardian and almost giving him a heart attack.

 

“So you suggest we fight a common enemy together?” Pitch leaned in closer, not giving Jack the time to back up. The winter spirit wasn't able to move anyway, too transfixed by the dark beings sudden close proximity. Why did his skin feel like it was heating up? He should move, or open his mouth for a witty remark, but nothing seemed to work. All he managed was a short nod, blue eyes captivated by glowing golden ones. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights. With a chuckle the nightmare king leaned down further, fingers tracing the line of the spirit boys jaw, barely touching skin at all.

 

“Very well, _Jack Frost_. Let's call this a truce. For now.” With those last words whispered in a silky deep voice close to the boy's ear, Pitch vanished completely. Leaving Jack alone in North's guest room. Alone, and with a light shade of blue coloring his cheeks.

 

~~~tbc.

 

_Yay, right in time for Christmas! :D_ _I got a very nice message from someone asking me if this story here was abandoned and that they would like to read more. That brought my attention back to C &N. I said I would write the next chapter and try to post it in time for Christmas, annnd. I managed! :3 _ _So merry Christmas to all of you out there! And thank you for sticking with this story! <3_

_~Shad._


	6. Sixth Chapter: A guardian cast out.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

 **Sixth Chapter:** **A guardian cast out.**

 

Jack's gaze lingered on the ceiling of North's guest bedroom, one hand resting above his head while the other played with his staff lazily. In the distance he could hear the booming voice of the bulky Russian but he couldn't be bothered to get up. So far none of the other guardians had called for his aid or even recognized his presence here much, so why should he follow them around like some dog waiting for orders? Yeah, not gonna happen any time soon. If they wanted him to participate in preparing the North Pole for any possible attacks or forming epic battle plans, then they better tell him or he wouldn't move an inch. Maybe it was a bit childish of him to act like this in such a dire situation, but honestly, he didn't feel much like a part of the guardians right now. Nor did he feel very useful being here at all. If it weren't for Pitch filling him in on what was going on, he would still know close to nothing.

 

Speaking of the devil, the dark spirit had been gone for a while now. As well as the horrible nightmare that had been so keen on following Jack. And as weird as that sounded, even to himself, somehow Jack kind of missed the presence of the annoying horse now. At least he had _something to do_ while it had been here. Now he was stuck with lying around in this room alone and his own thoughts. Something he really didn't appreciate right now. Because he couldn't keep them from wandering to places they should never have gone to in the first place. Like back to the message he had received from the man in the moon, or the way his body had been frozen in place when Pitch had invaded his personal space during their last encounter. If he acted like _that_ around an enemy just because his stupid hormones started doing a number on his brain, he wouldn't be alive and kicking for much longer, that much was for sure.

 

With an annoyed groan he rose from the bed, yet again he had gone back to thinking about the nightmare king. What was wrong with him? That was _Pitch_ he was thinking about, for the sake of it! He wasn't _that_ desperate and lonely. Or at least that was what Jack tried to tell himself. With both hands the snow spirit rubbed through his white hair in frustration. Only a few days ago things had been so nice and simple, like they always had been. He was causing mischief and entertaining kids. And now? Now he was faced with a menacing evil trying to destroy everything Jack cherished, the guardians basically _ignoring_ him, MiM talking crap and his own brain actually considering Pitch as a possible _love interest_. Seriously, how much worse could things get?

 

The winter spirit grabbed the fluffy pillow next to his head, pressing it down onto his own face as hard as he could. He simply refused to keep thinking right now. It was starting to give him a headache and he just wanted some peace and quiet from it all. So with his eyes closed forcefully by the pillow, he would have no other choice but sleep. At least while he slept he could turn his brain off for a while. And maybe he would wake up finding out it was all just a really, really unpleasant dream.

 

Yeah. Most likely not, but hope always dies last, right? Jack willed his body to relax and his mind to do the same. Naturally sleep wouldn't come easy. Maybe he should go find Sandy and ask for a little aid with that. Or freeze his eyes shut with his staff. Whatever would work...

 

~.~.~.~

 

Wisps of dancing shadows enveloped the large dark globe in the depths of Pitch's lair. Golden orbs followed their every movement, trying to find a pattern in the way they slithered over the surface. There had to be an opening. A way to get rid of the lurking darkness blocking his view. But so far he came up blank, the mist would not budge to reveal the vile energy of it's master below. That insane Necromancer knew that Pitch could become a problem, so he made sure to cloak the globe and made it impossible for the nightmare king to find his hideout this way. As annoying as it was, but apparently the dark spirit would have to use far more time consuming methods to find out where that damned undead was hiding. Even his trusty nightmares had not been able to find him so far.

 

With a snarl Pitch averted his gaze from the globe, one hand reaching out to pet the muzzle of the closest shadow mare. The Lich King was no fool, he knew too well who commanded the nightmares and shades. He knew that Pitch would try to interfere with his plans if he found him. That undeads' magic was strong enough to ensure his whereabouts were not revealed unless he wanted them to be. But even he could only conceal so much. The Lich would make mistakes eventually, and when that time came, Pitch would be aware of it. His shadows would notice and track the other dark being down. It was only a matter of time before he would find the Necromancer. Hopefully that would be soon, each day that passed would only leave the souleater growing stronger. A truly unpleasant thought.

 

Even if the fear and terror he invoked in the humans with his deeds also fuelled Pitch's own powers. In the end it wouldn't do any good, dead humans didn't feel anything after all. The inevitable fight would become so much more trouble if the Necromancer had his magic fully restored. Nothing Pitch looked forward to.

 

The mare he had been casually petting snorted softly, pushing her head against her masters cloak. Pitch looked down to her, surprised by the nightmares sudden show of affection. That one sure was acting weird. What had happened to her to behave so strange was beyond the dark spirit. But then again, it wasn't as if he cared all that much. He had other things to focus on. With one last glance at the globe and the lovesick nightmare he shook his head slightly before heading into the deeper levels of his lair. He had some preparations to make if he had to face that insane, undead menace yet again...

 

~.~.~.~

 

Blue eyes followed the track of water droplets Bunny left behind after he had exited one of his tunnels. The rabbit had been out trying to track down the latest activities of the Lich King and his minions and to gather more information. That apparently had involved walking through pouring rain for a while judging from the wet fur and the annoyed expression on the guardians face. Jack couldn't help but grin at the wet Pookha. Now that served the grumpy rabbit just right.

Shaking of the remaining water as best as he could, the Easter Bunny walked up to North. The bulky man was busy looking over some old pages and maps when he noticed his fellow guardian enter. They exchanged a few words Jack couldn't quite understand and the rabbit left again.

 

It was the next day and so far nobody had made an effort to fill the winter spirit in on what was going on. Since staring at the walls of the guest room and counting little reindeer on the curtains had become too boring, Jack had opted for lounging around the globe room. Only to be mostly ignored once again. Yay for him. With a sigh he let his head fall back against the couch he was half lying across. Sadly sleeping had done nothing to soothe his troubled mind. Quite the opposite, actually. The winter spirit had awoken multiple times due to awful dreams of haunting golden eyes and stomping hooves. Maybe he was slowly going crazy. Or he just had had one too many shadow horse encounters lately. Probably the latter.

 

“Ah, Jack, may I have word with you?” Huh? Oh, North had turned his way, beckoning him over. Somebody was _finally_ talking to the snow spirit. Miracles do happen! He got up from his couch, the big bearded man gestured for the boy to follow. Jack gave a quick nod and walked after the bulky guardian into one of his private rooms. Toys and a plate with half eaten cookies adored the workspace when they entered. With large hands Santa moved all the clutter aside to make room for himself to lean against a wooden workbench. Jack had entered after the man, pulling the door shut. Somehow the lack of the usual jolly smile on North's face made the winter spirit quite uneasy. He rarely saw the boar of a man looking so serious. To tell the truth, Santa could be really intimidating if he wanted to be. Twirling his staff between his fingers a little nervously Jack leaned against the door frame; waiting for North to speak. Hopefully he wasn't in trouble again.

 

“Ah, Jack, it appears as if what you've told us is indeed true. Even if we had hoped it would not be.” A frown ghosted over the face of the older spirit. Jack could only roll his eyes; of course it was true. Why else would Pitch have rotting corpses lying around his lair? The younger spirit suppressed a slight shiver at the thought of the dead body. He really hoped he would never have to smell anything like _that_ again.

 

“The king of the dead has indeed returned, and he is here in the mortal world no less.” Jack could only nod, already knowing that much anyway. Pitch had been so kind as to fill him in on that part already. While he listened to Santa he couldn't help but notice how much older the man looked with his brow furrowed in worry. So even the bulky Russian was that concerned about this undead monster? Wow, this new bad guy had to be some awful dark being indeed.

 

“You may not know much about the danger we are about to face, but know that he is not to be taken lightly. His powers are far more sinister and vile than anything you can imagine. And he will not hesitate to use them.” North turned away from the winter spirit after those words, walking up to one of the large windows in the room. His weary gaze lingered on the horizon.“This world is in great danger, Jack. And so is every one of us.” Not only did North look much older, his voice sounded the part, too.

 

The winter spirit felt a shiver of dread run down his spine. He had known the situation was bad, but he hadn't really imagined it to be _this_ bad. Jack had stopped toying with his staff and was instead gripping it tightly. Before he could even think about what he wanted to answer, the older spirit was already talking again.

 

”There will be changes made in the workshop. We must prepare for battle.” A strong hand reached out to trace the edges of a little toy plane that sat on the windowsill next to the old man. “We must do everything in our power to protect the children.” Somehow Jack felt like North wasn't even talking to him anymore. The man seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, gaze lingering on the small toy. A strong feeling of sympathy rushed through the younger spirit.

 

It took only a moment for the older guardian to force reality back into focus, turning around to face Jack again. Whatever memory he had been lost in shoved aside. “Allies of ours will be arriving here shortly. We had to inform them about the recent events. This may not be their domain, but this foe is threatening all of us. While they are here in the workshop, magic wards will be in place. Nothing that isn't invited may enter. “

 

Jack raised a brow at this new information. Allies? So far he only overheard Tooth or Bunny talking about other spirits and mythical creatures occasionally, he hadn't met any of the guardians allies in person. Normally such an information would leave him with a goofy smile and quite exited. But somehow the thought of getting to meet other immortal beings sounded less thrilling now. Especially if they were here to discuss how to deal with a insane villain trying to slaughter all mortals. The snow spirit bit his lower lip in agitation. So this was a really big deal if the guardians even involved the other realms. Jack didn't feel ready for something like this at all.

 

A strong hand on his shoulder brought his attention back to the big man in front of him. North's face had softened now that he was directly speaking to the youngest guardian. “Listen, Jack. I know all this may be a bit much, but I have to ask you to stay put for now.” Really. Wasn't that exactly what he had been doing here these last days all along? The white haired boy grimaced at this new information. So he was stuck here for even longer? _Great._

 

“No one knows how strong the enemy really is, nor can we tell if he is aware of us already being alert to his presence. All we can say is that a war is coming, and we need to be prepared. And with _we_ I mean the ones that have great experience in battle and know what this monster is capable of.”

 

Jack's jaw tightened at that, his shoulders stiffening under the large man's hand. North gazed down at him with an apologetic look that clearly told that he was sorry. But that didn't change the meaning of the man's words at all. They were doing this without Jack. They didn't think him though enough to handle that bad guy. Or too inexperienced or whatever. A grim expression had settled on the snow sprites face; defiance showing as bright as day. “What? You can't just ignore me and-!”

 

The rant Jack was about to go on with was cut short by North lifting his large hands. “Now, now, listen, Jack. _Nobody_ is ignoring you. But try to understand, we are facing an enemy neither of us is capable of defeating right now. We simply do want to keep you safe.” The fatherly tone in Santa's voice and the gentle smile forced the guardian of fun to close his mouth. There was no arguing with North right now and Jack knew it. The logical part of his brain understood the decision the other guardians had made somewhat, but the rest of it wanted to cry out in frustration. Of course they wanted him safe, but he wanted to do something to keep them safe and alive as well, not just sit by and watch.

 

“Fine.” He ground out, hands still gripping his staff tighter than necessary. North smiled down at him with a nod. “I knew you would understand.” A strong hand patted Jack's shoulder affectionately. “Of course you are free to leave the workshop, but stay close to the pole.”

With that the big Russian stepped away from Jack and opened the door to leave. Before he made his way back to the globe room to give more orders to the yetis North stopped one more time.

 

“Oh, and Jack? Try not to be rude to any of our guests, no? They are very powerful beings and some might not take kindly to being disrespected. It's best you stay away from them.” Even if the last words were said in the usual jolly tone Santa's voice normally held, Jack couldn't help but grimace at them.

 

So he wasn't allowed to do anything useful, to leave the area or even to get to know the other immortals who were going to show up? Pushing himself off of the door frame the winter spirit stalked out of the workroom with a sour expression. This whole situation just went from bad to even _worse._ Really, this was going to be nothing but awful from here on, and Jack knew it. Just why was everyone against him lately? Awfully frustrating wasn't even enough to describe the current situation. Just why did everybody think him incapable of handling _anything?_ He wasn't a kid, for god's sake. Even if he sometimes acted the part...

 

~.~.~.~

 

With yellowed pages of an old book almost crumbling under his delicate fingers, Pitch was seated in an eerie ancient library. He rarely visited this part of his domain, the hall so far below the surface he almost forgot that it was even there from time to time. Shelves sculpted from black stone that went up higher than you could even see, dusty statues and ornaments telling stories of long forgotten times. The air was damp and the only source of light were black candles that decorated every other piece of furniture or stack of books on the ground. The blue flames always flickering, and no matter how much time had passed since the last visit, the candles would never burn down. The magic enchanting the whole hall was far older than even Pitch himself. He disliked this place for that very reason. The powers that worked here were not his own, yet he could not get rid of them, no matter what. Of course he had long since accepted the ancient magic and simply tolerated it in his domain, but that didn't mean he had to like the place. The information the ancient books and scrolls provided could be quite useful, however. Well, at least if he managed to find the right ones.

 

So far he hadn't found a single trace about a possible weapon that could have been used against the Lich King. There had to be something, the nightmare king knew it. But finding the desired information in this maze of a library was a rather hard task. The last weapon that was used to strike the insane souleater down had vanished from existence along with it's wielder. So using it again was out of the question. But what else would suffice in defeating pure darkness?

Pitch knew that his powers could not banish the other netherworldly spirit, for they originated from the same source of power. He was as much a being of the dark realms as the Lich King was. Sure, he could fight him, but the finishing blow had to come from someone else. Naturally, a normal weapon wouldn't be enough to strip the Necromancer from his powers, either. No, it had to be something stronger. Something embedded with a different kind of power.

 

With a sigh he placed the book on the obsidian table in front of him. It was no use, maybe another ancient tome would hold more usable information than this one. While Pitch tried to decide if he should try yet another book, the silence of the endless halls between the shelves was disturbed by restless whining and whispers. The shadows called for their master. The dark spirit rose, abandoning his task for now. Leaving the book on the table Pitch stepped into the shadows, reappearing in the entrance hall of his lair. His eyes scanned the black globe briefly, the mist was still clouding his vision.

 

The fearlings and nightmares around him were agitated, apparently having gathered some rather important information. The Shadowmancer beckoned one of his mares to his side, placing his pale fingers against her strong neck. The images of what the shade had witnessed poured into Pitch's mind, the master of the mare seeing them as through her very eyes. He had ordered his nightmares to keep watch of the north pole, he needed to know what those fools were up to after all. And apparently they were taking the situation rather seriously. The workshop of North appeared more like a fortress by now. Every corner was guarded, strong magic shielding it from any possible intruders. He could tell just from seeing the place from afar that something big was going on. Pitch couldn't help the smirk tugging at his lips. Maybe he had underestimated the old guardian a little bit.

 

“ _Interesting._ ” The dark spirit let his hand slip away from the shadow mare, walking up to the globe once more. His fingers trailed over the black wisps, deep in thought. “We better keep an eye on them. Can't have them make any _foolish decisions_ just yet, now can we.” With a pleased smile Pitch vanished back into the shadows while his nightmares set out into the world above, going back to their observations. Things were finally beginning to get interesting, so a little visit to the Pole was in order for their master.

 

~~~tbc.

 

_Another chapter, yay! This one is pretty much just to build up the story some more. Pitch and Jack will meet again in the next chapter, and there will be some epic planning on how to get rid of Mr. evil monsterguy. :D So while you wait for that, review, because it makes me happy! <3_

_~Shad._

 

 


	7. Seventh Chapter: Invitations and battle plans.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M (T for now)_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

 **Seventh Chapter:** **Invitations and battle plans.**

 

Golden eyes glare daggers at the wide open archway, witnessing other beings passing the threshold with no difficulties whatsoever. Some of them he knew, had come across in the past or just heard about before. Others were nothing but strangers to him, but he still could tell from their mere appearance that they held great power of sorts. Pitch's gaze lingered on a small group of nymphs, marching proud and elegant, the one leading them greeting the yetis guarding the entrance with a sharp nod. They were a rare sight in this realm. He actually pitied North a little for having to deal with them. Their kin was known for their arrogance and belittling nature towards those they deemed lesser creatures.

 

The ethereal beauties were followed by a towering man, long beard almost reaching the ground, heavy antlers growing from his head. His lower body that of a steed, he was even taller than North's bulky yetis. Pitch didn't recognize this particular spirit, but the ancient magic surrounding him was strong. He made a mental note to stay away from this being, under any circumstances.

After those guests of the guardians had entered the fortress-ike workshop, only a few armored warriors remained outside and within the Shadowmancers' view. Apparently elves from some realm Pitch couldn't bother to recognize right now, standing watch alongside the hairy beasts North called his guards. With a scoff the dark spirit turned around, stalking away from the mouth of the ice cave he had chosen to hide in. It was pathetic, really.

 

That someone like him had to watch from afar while those light preaching fools entered without hindrance. Annoyed with the fact that he couldn't get past the magical defences of the workshop, Pitch glared at the shadow mare that had accompanied him here. Not that she was at fault, he just needed something to take his anger out on. The nightmare didn't seem to mind. glad that she was receiving attention from her master at all.

 

Pitch had already figured out that the powerful wards and spells woven around the pole were to keep everything uninvited out, he just hadn't expected them to be powerful enough to keep _him_ out as well. Especially with his newly acquired strength, thanks to the fear and terror the Lich King had ignited within the mortals of this world. Still, he couldn't get into the building. It was truly bothersome. He really had underestimated old jolly Santa this time.

 

So he couldn't get into the guardian's headquarters the way he usually did, no shadow magic or dark power would take him inside. Neither could he send any of his nightmares to keep watch of what was going on in the warded building. He was left to sulk in some cave craven into one of the old glaciers, unable to get a look at what those fools were planning. The tendrils of shadow slithering from his robes seemed to sense the mood of their master turning grim and cloaked the whole cave into blackness, swallowing every flicker of light. Soon the icy walls looked like a dark hole in the blinding whiteness of the north pole. Stepping up to his mares’ side, Pitch let his eyes roam over the towering building once more. A wicked smile tugged on his lips as an idea struck him. One pale hand came up to absent mindedly pet the strong neck of the shade.

 

“Well, looks like we need to find someone to beckon us in. And I know _just_ the right person to do so.” The horse snorted softly in agreement; knowing exactly who it was her master had in mind. Not that she really _liked_ the idea, but the boy truly was their best shot at getting access to Santa's Workshop. Sadly. She'd much rather see the brat burried somewhere.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Jack took a deep breath, trying his best to just relax in his room and not think too much about everything he was missing out on. Despite himself and his curious nature he had listened to North for once, staying out of the way while these so called allies arrived. The bulky Russian had insisted on calling a meeting with some other magical beings to discuss the situation at hand. And of course, Jack had been excluded yet again, the other guardians claiming him to be too young and inexperienced. And too annoying and ill – mannered, though those had only been Bunny’s words. Stupid rabbit.

 

The winter spirit rolled his eyes while he recalled the furry guardian arguing that Jack would for sure insult their guests in some way even before he had spoken the first sentence to them. Really now? What did that stupid kangaroo think he was? Some kind of retarded kid that wasn't able to have a normal conversation with anyone without offending them somehow? It was frustrating, really. Well, truth be told Jack wasn't exactly known to be polite and show the proper respect to those above him, but still. They could have at least allowed him to tag along during that stupid meeting and watch. It's not like he could actually offend anybody by just _being_ there, now could he? Well, Bunny would probably beg to differ.

 

Jack had given in when Tooth had smiled at him apologetically and explained that some of their guests were just not used to being addressed in any way but formal and with great respect. She claimed some of them to be royalty of other realms' races and Jack really hadn't faced anybody of royal blood before. So he naturally had no real idea how to treat these people. He had left after that, but not without pouting and muttering a few choice curse words. Ever since then he had just lurked around his room, watching the transformation from North’s workshop into a magical fortress with little interest. It turned boring pretty fast when you weren't allowed to get a closer look at _anything_.

 

So the guardians were about to have their possibly greatest fight, forming an alliance with other mythical beings and races from realms Jack hadn't even know existed. Everything to defend humanity from an insane Necromancer, and all he could do was sit around and _watch._ From afar. If that wasn't just _amazing_ and _fun_ the frost spirit didn't know what.

All sarcasm aside, to say that the guardian of fun was pissed at his friends was not even close to what he felt. It was beyond the younger spirit why the others would treat him like this, excluding him from even making plans against this villain guy. He could understand to some degree that they would be worried about him in a fight. Not that they needed to be, but this was something else entirely. It was as if they didn't want him around at all. And from past experience Jack could tell for sure that he didn't particular enjoy being cast out, no matter the supposedly good intentions the others might have this time.

 

But what could he do, really? He had already tried to sneak out and steal a few glances at the arriving allies. Much to his dismay he hadn't made it very far, some quite grim looking yetis spotting him in no time. The disapproving look he had earned from the sandman after being caught forcing him to retreat to his room once more. So there was no way he would find out what was going on in that giant hall North had prepared for the meeting. It wasn't like Jack could just go invisible, sadly.

 

~.~.~.~

 

It had been a while since the big meeting had started, the halls gone silent aside from the occasional yeti guard passing trough. Jack still lay on his bed, toying with his staff while he listened to the howling wind outside. It had started to snow some time ago and the change in weather had actually lifted the guardians' spirits a bit. At least now it suited his mood. The boredom was really starting to get to him though, and Jack actually contemplated to leave his guest room in search of Phil just to annoy the furry guy.

Just when he was about to get up his eyes caught sight of movement in front of the window. He got up swiftly, grasping his staff and walking over to pull the ugly curtains back. There was nothing outside, at least nothing Jack could see. With a raised eyebrow he set his staff aside to open the window; his natural curiosity outweighing the feeling in his gut telling him not to. Once the cool breeze carried snowflakes inside his room the spirit leaned out somewhat, bracing his hands on the windowsill.

 

A startled yelp was all Jack managed when his eyes met dead on with those of a creepily familiar nightmare materializing right in front of him. Stumbling back into the room ungracefully, the spirit leapt for his staff. Quickly rising to his feet again, weapon pointed at the creature.

 

“ _You_ again?! Oh, come on! How did you get this close?”A light chuckle was his answer when Pitch appeared out of thin air as well, comfortably seated on his trusty mares' back. The wind and snow not bothering him the least. Legs crossed and his chin propped up on one hand, smirk right in place. “Hello to you too, Jack.”

 

The guardian glared at the dark spirit, dropping his defensive stance and instead crossing his arms in front of his chest. Trying hard to ignore the burning eyes of the nightmare drilling imaginary holes into his head, Jack looked up at Pitch. “Seriously, what is it with you and scaring the crap out of people?”

 

The dark spirit just shrugged. “Old habits die hard, I guess.” Jack rolled his eyes at that. Well, at least now he had some entertainment, even if it was the bad kind. He turned around, slumping back down on the colourful sheets of his bed.

 

“What do you want? I'm kinda busy, you know?” It was close to impossible to miss the frustration dripping from Jack's voice. Pitch managed to ignore it anyway. Like he always did.

 

“I bet.” With a snicker the older spirit gestured towards the, aside from Jack empty, room. “All the stress must be killing you.” Clearly not amused the winter spirit only showed Pitch the finger. Paying the rude gesture no mind, the Shadowmancers' wicked grin widened.

 

“Very mature, Jack. I can hardly understand why you are here all by yourself and not chatting with the otherworldly ambassadors right now. They would surely be _impressed_ by your conversational skills and manners.” That comment managed to piss the frost spirit off even more, if that was still possible. Why was everybody going on about him being immature lately?! It was beyond frustrating, really. He wasn't some stupid _child_! With a death glare directed at Pitch he sat up again, throwing his arms up.

 

“My _‘conversational skills and manners`_ are perfectly fine, okay?! It's not _my_ fault everybody deems me to be some sort of socially awkward child with zero to none experience in combat! I can handle myself just fine _._ ” With a frustrated huff the youngest guardian crossed his arms again, grinding his teeth. He instantly regretted his outburst when he heard the dark being laugh. Great, just what was missing to make this day even more amazing. Jack really wished he could just slam the window shut and into Pitch's face. The other spirit seemed to have a hard time sitting up straight while he was still laughing. Well, at least one of them was having a good time.

 

“Did you just come here to mock me, or is there some kind of _actual_ reason for you being here?” The tone in Jack's voice made it very clear that he was not in the mood for pointless banter. Especially not when its main subject was to make fun of him. Barely hiding his smirk, Pitch tried to turn serious again, gesturing towards the window.

 

“Actually, yes. I'm here because, unfortunately, there is no other way for me to access the building right now.” Jack raised an eyebrow at that, thinking for a moment before it dawned on him what the dark spirit was getting at. His face lit up somewhat when realization hit him.

 

“So not even you can get in without being invited, huh?” This time it was the frost spirit that grinned smugly at Pitch. The others' obvious inability to get into the workshop with the magic wards in place rather amusing to Jack. The older spirit answered with a flat tone while paying more attention to his nails than to the boy. “It seems so.”

 

“Well, some _great n_ ightmare king you are, can't even get in without the help of someone with lacking _conversational skills and manners._ ” Pitch paid the mockery no mind, knowing that he would lose this argument. It didn't sit well with him, but he indeed needed Jack to get in. So with a sigh and a slight nod he repeated his answer from moments ago, any enthusiasm missing in his voice.

 

“It seems so...” With a snicker Jack stood up from the bed again, glad that he finally had the last word in an argument with Pitch. “Alright, you have my _permission_ to enter.” With a smug look on his features Jack stood by while Pitch vanished into nothing only to reappear inside Jack's room. The dark spirit was clearly none too happy about needing the winter spirits' permission for anything, but it couldn’t be helped.

 

“Why, thank you, oh _great_ guardian...” With fake admiration in his voice Pitch gave a mocking bow in front of Jack. The younger one just rolling his eyes, dismissing the annoying Shadowmancer with a flick of his wrist. Whatever, he still had needed help to get in.

 

“So? Aren't you here to spy on the others or something? Why not go and do that instead of granting on my nerves.” It was Pitch's turn to raise a brow at the other spirit.

 

“Not that I'm complaining, but since when do you just allow your _enemies_ to enter and watch secret mission meetings of your dear _friends_? Feeling a bit traitorous today, Jack?” The fun guardian only shrugged. Dire situations called for drastic measures, and Jack sure as hell wouldn’t just sit around all day and wait for the others to fight the new enemy on their own. Not if he had any chance to participate. He was a guardian as well, inexperienced and immature or not. And he would be part of this plan, no matter what North or Bunny said. If he needed Pitch's help to do so, fine. Besides, it wasn't as if the nightmare king could do much while within the highly guarded workshop. And as Pitch had stated himself, he wanted the Lich King to go down just as much.

 

“We aren't exactly _enemies_ at the moment, remember? You agreed to this temporary truce as well.” Pitch couldn't hide the frown on his face. Right. They were kind of working together... for now. Well, at least he didn't need the assistance of any other guardian but Jack. That was something, wasn't it? It sure would be quite a bit harder to convince the angry Easter Bunny or skittish Toothiana that they had to join forces. Without getting himself attacked before he even had a chance to speak. There was just no way he'd ever work together with the rest of them. Well, dire situations called for drastic actions. For now he would gladly accept the frost boy's help.

 

“Besides, since no one is telling me _anything_ here, what other options do I have? Better you tell me what they are planning then no one. So, why don't you get going?” The dark spirit rolled his eyes at the teens words. That boy sure was feeling safe in here to talk to the Boogeyman like that. But what did it matter right now? He was inside the workshop and no one but Jack knew. It was what Pitch had wanted in the first place, to gather information without raising suspicion. So who was he to argue, if Jack wanted to make this easy on him? With another fake bow and a sarcastic ‘ _of course, oh high and mighty guardian.’_ the nightmare king vanished into the shadows again, now able to roam the workshop of North freely. He still had to be careful to mask his powers and dark aura, of course. Some of the guests surely wouldn't be pleased to meet him. At all.

 

While he searched for the hall the meeting was held in, he couldn't help but feel a bit like the frost spirits' errand boy somehow. To think that he actually did what Jack had told him... Well, this had been his _own_ plan from the start, but it still irked him somewhat.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Blue eyes watched the creature left floating outside the window, wind lashing mercilessly against the nightmares' flank. She grunted and whined, agitated that her master had left her alone. Alone with that _awful_ boy no less. Her glowing eyes followed his every move like a predator. Oh how she _despised_ that kid. The nerve of that boy to talk to her master like that! If only she could trample him for good in his sleep...

 

Jack walked up to the window, smiling deviously at the mare. The very one that had followed him around like some stupid dog, mind you. He wasn’t sure how, he just knew it was the same one. And right about now it was payback time. That shadow wasn't the only one who could be a bitch here. Perched on his elbows, Jack leaned onto the windowsill once again, looking the creature straight in the eye.

 

“What's wrong, missing the Boogeyman already? Too bad, because it looks like you _weren’t_ invited in, horsey. So have fun in the snowstorm.” With those words Jack turned around and slammed the window right into the baffled shadows muzzle. Not able to suppress a laugh the spirit returned to his bed, laying back down and waiting for Pitch to return. The mare was left outside in the biting wind and snow, silently fuming. Her sharp whine was drowned out by the howling wind. It too somehow seemed like it was mocking the nightmare. She glared harder at the spirit inside, who pointedly ignored her. So the boy wanted to play dirty? Oh, he was _on_...

 

~.~.~.~

 

Pitch's attention was ripped from the scene in the great hall below him by the distant cry of outrage. One that clearly belonged to his nightmare. For a brief moment he wondered if he should go check on her, but decided against it. Whatever the stupid creatures' problem was, it surely couldn't be that severe. The golden gaze flickered back to the people below, currently engaged in a heated debate on how the undead menace that was the Lich King could have escaped from his prison.

 

A beautiful, pale elven priestess with blonde hair had risen from her seat, claiming the stupidity of the dark elves to be the reason. Their underground realm supposedly too close to the nether world and a possible escape route for the banished Necromancer. The old drow king defending his people just as viciously, completely ignoring a feathered maiden who shrieked at him from the side. The harpy ambassador going on about the selfishness of the dark elves and their unhealthy obsession with unholy magic. North rose as well, attempting to calm the furious blonde priestess, but only succeeding in making her angrier. An ethereal looking nymph joined in on their argument, claiming the beautiful elves to be too arrogant and vain to ever take the situation seriously. Well, they sure were accomplishing a _lot_ down there.

 

All in all the whole meeting room was a mess of different voices and languages. The nightmare king had to lift one hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. That's just what he had imagined a meeting of the rulers and kings of the different realms to be like. It was hilarious, really! And to see the old guardian trying to get everything back in order was just too good to pass up. Not that he wasn’t a bit concerned about the fate of the mortal world, but he hadn’t expected anything different. There was a reason why the forces of everything _good_ and _holy_ only joined when the situation got dire. Namely, that they would end up engaged in a shouting match about who was to blame for what every time they met. It was probably in the nature of otherworldly politics to end up in arguments and pointless banter. Or any politics, for that matter.

 

The dark spirit observed quietly from the shadows, smirking when the Easter Bunny got talked down by a female drow for his tunnels being a nuisance to every other magical being living below ground. And him smelling like wet sheep, apparently.

 

A booming voice that seemed to come from every direction at once finally managed to shut everybody else up. The tall bearded Taur, raising a wooden staff that emitted an eerie green glow, now having all eyes on him. It was obvious that the ancient being was powerful and held a high status amongst the holy court. No one dared to raise their voice against his plea for silence. After everyone had settled once more, the old demigod nodded towards North for him to continue. The bulky guardian stood from his seat; now able to speak without interruptions. A friendly smile was directed at the bearded Taur before the guardian went on with his speech.

 

By the end of the meeting Pitch's attention began to drift. They sure were dragging this out unnecessarily. Not that the great rulers and high ones had made great progress so far. They had agreed on the Lich King being a threat to be taken seriously and that he could not be allowed to roam free. But that was pretty much everything they _could_ agree on. North and the other guardians had spoken their plea for assistance in defending this world, to which most of the members of the holy court seemed to be quite sympathetic. But to Pitch's surprise not all of them, some declaring that they had their own worlds to defend in one pointless war or another. So after more heated debate and a few accusations and some shouting, the meeting was deemed to be over.

 

The towering demigod with the long beard and booming voice assuring North that the guardians could count on his assistance. With slightly less enthusiasm the group of nymphs declared the same, promising to send a few powerful sorceresses to aid in battle. Clad in silver armour and armed with an quite impressive great sword, the commandant of the drow army assured their cooperation. Some of his man staying in the Workshop as guards while he would return to their capital to prepare his troops for battle. The war lusty underground elves were always up for a fight, and the Necromancer and his army of the dead seemed to be a worthy foe.

 

To Pitch's surprise even the pretty elf priestess promised Toothiana that the elven archers would be a formidable defence when it came to protecting the palace of the Tooth fairy. Well, females had to stick together, probably. Bunnymund had taken to instruct the harpy warriors and their queen as to where he needed them as scouts to track down the banished Lich King. Sanderson looked a bit helpless all the while, no one getting what he was trying to say. Or rather, tried to symbolize. A dark elf knight watching his sand language with raised brows while a water nymph was giggling about the cute little guy soaking up the droplets she sprinkled on his feet. Helpful much, wasn't he.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Well, apparently the guardians weren't as helpless and clueless as Pitch had expected them to be. But still, even with the aid of their new allies, he doubted that they would give the undead monster a run for it. But at least he didn't have to worry about the mortal world falling victim to the damned souls within a days' time. Satisfied with the fact that he at least had some time to find a weapon that could bring their enemy down, the dark spirit retreated from the great hall. By now it was getting a bit annoying to suppress his own aura so much. Slipping through the shadows, he made it back towards the room where Jack was impatiently waiting for the dark kings' return. Bored out of his skull, mind you.

 

“So, you say we have an army ready to fight that guy, strong allies and the forces of magic and light on our side. Why shouldn't we win?” Jack was lounging on his bed, one arm resting comfortably behind his head while the other held his staff lazily. From what Pitch had told him, it sounded as if the guardians would have the situation under control again pretty soon. With a sigh the older spirit let his gaze trail over his furious nightmare, still in front of the window. Poor thing was half frozen. The guardian of fun sure held grudges.

 

“Because he cannot be defeated so easily. A weapon is needed that will be able to not only strike him down, but drain his powers from him as well. That's the only way to get rid of him for good.” Jack turned his head towards the dark being, seated on the desk of North's guest room once again. With the hand holding his staff hanging limply off of the beds edge, Jack coated some of the shadowy tendrils from Pitch's cloak with a fine layer of frost. His antics went either unnoticed or ignored.

 

“Well, then why don’t they just get a weapon that can do that?” With a look that clearly asked the frost spirit if he was stupid, the Shadowmancer shook his head slightly.

 

“It's not like that would be easy, you know? And besides, I doubt that the guardians or their allies are even aware of the fact that such a weapon will be needed. They probably think cutting his head off will be enough.” Jack raised an eyebrow at that, stopping his work with the dark spirits' cloak. “Why wouldn't they know?”

 

“It wasn't _them_ who defeated the king of the dead the last time, remember?” It took a moment but the white haired spirit recalled the images made of shadows Pitch had shown him the other day. It had been the high court of the netherworld that had sealed him away and stripped the lich of his powers the last time. That's right, so how would the guardians know what the court of the world below did to get rid of that guy? They had no idea that they needed a special weapon to take him down. They would undoubtedly lose any battle against him, if they didn't have any means to take away his powers and set the devoured souls free again.

 

“Right... Well, we have to tell them.” The look Pitch gave him made it pretty clear that it was a stupid idea. Yeah, it probably was. What could he do? Walk up to North and tell him that he had been spying on them? Oh, and let Pitch in to do so, by the way. As well as agreeing to a truce with the enemy. And that said enemy had somehow given Jack viable information on to how to defeat the Lich. And that Pitch was totally not planning to betray them or anything, nope. Oh, and while he was at it he could add the fact that MiM thought it to be a _great idea_ for Jack to marry Pitch and have lots of happy children. Yeah, that sure would go over _smooth..._

 

The winter spirit cringed a bit when he realized that none of the other guardians could ever know about his truce with Pitch. Or the other things that had transpired between him and the dark spirit these last days. The memories of the last time his friends had deemed Jack to be a traitor were still fresh. And if possible the boy would like to avoid a repeat of Bunny telling him that he couldn’t be trusted. As much as he hated to admit it, that had hurt pretty bad.

 

“Okay, so we can't tell them, obviously...” Blue eyes did their best to avoid golden ones, the memory of the super awkward conversation with the Man in the Moon now stuck in Jack's head once again.

 

“Then what do we do? Just let them walk to their doom, hoping they will figure some way to defeat the Lich King out on their own?” A smile tugged at pale lips when Pitch imagined the guardians and their little light preaching friends getting torn apart by the Necromancer. He had to admit that he truly would like to see that. But then again, saving his power source from being wiped out was more important than revenge.

 

“As entertaining as that would be-“ Those words earned the Shadowmancer a glare from Jack. “- I doubt they would find a way before they are all ripped to pieces. And fighting an undead army made of magical creatures as well as humans won't be that much fun.” Just the thought of the guardians coming back to life to haunt him after having their souls sucked out... no, he'd rather avoid that.

 

“So if we want to save these pathetic mortals and their world, we better find a suitable weapon on our own. Before your little _friends_ charge into a lost battle without it.” Jack's features lit up immediately. Of course, why hadn't he thought about that before? No one had to know that he had teamed up with Pitch! The nightmare king could just show up during the final battle and strike the Lich King down. The world would be safe, the guardians would win, Pitch could keep his powers and Jack had done something to protect what was important to him as well! Afterwards they could go back to being enemies and hating each others' guts and no one would ever have to know of their so called truce. It was brilliant! Well, at least it was in Jack's mind. Because for now he didn't know that it couldn't be Pitch wielding the final blow, thanks to his and the Lich King's shared source of power. And the dark spirit wasn't eager to tell him, either.

 

“Alright, so all we have to do is find some magical sword or whatever to get rid of that guy without anybody noticing what we are doing. Or that I'm helping you, for that matter.” As much as Pitch didn't share the frost boys' enthusiasm about it, yes. He didn't look forward to anybody finding out that he needed the help of some childish guardian of fun, either. So that plan was perfectly fine with him. And from what Jack had said it wasn't as anybody would miss him terribly, if he left every now and then. With a nod the dark spirit got up from the table, grimacing when he noticed the ice covering parts of his robe. He gave Jack a look that the boy pretended not to notice.

 

“Essentially, yes. But don't think that this will be easy, Jack. For now I will take my leave, we will start our search tonight. Meet me in my lair.” Blue eyes widened. When the nightmare king was about to vanish, the white haired teen shot up from the bed. “Wait! How am I supposed to get into your lair? I mean, have you _seen_ this place?! How could I just walk out without anyone noticing?”

 

Gesturing towards the window the winter spirit referred to the magic wards, woven spell barriers, yeti guards and drow knights. How was he ever supposed to get out of this place without anybody seeing? It was impossible. He hadn't even made it out of his room towards the meeting hall during his last try. The wicked smile on Pitch's features didn't sit well with the frost spirit when he caught the Shadowmancers gaze.

 

“Why, Jack, the same way you entered the first time.” And with those words he was gone. The guardian of fun stood dumbstruck in his room. What was that supposed to mean? The only entrance Jack knew about was the one in the woods near Burgess. Far away from his current room. So how the hell was he supposed to get there the _same_ way? It made no sense at all. What was that stupid evil spirit playing at? With a huff Jack let himself fall back onto the soft mattress again, staring at the ceiling in frustration.

 

“What was that supposed to mean, like the first time? It's not like I an just jump down a hole under some _creepy bed_ again and-“ He cut himself off, blue eyes widening for a moment. Quickly sitting back up, he crawled to the edge of the bed and looked beneath it. And sure enough, there was a gaping hole right there. Unlike the one he had encountered while searching for his memories, this one seemed to be made out of shadows entirely. But the winter spirit had no doubt that it would lead him straight to the underground lair. Rolling his eyes he sat up again, distaste showing on his face as bright as day.

 

“Seriously, Pitch?” Jack wasn't talking to anybody in particular, but he was sure that the Shadowmancer could hear him. Not passing up on this opportunity to see the pissed off look on the teens face. Just why did he have to work together with someone like Pitch? Ugh.

“Under my damn _bed_? Can you get any more creepy?” A low chuckle from the shadows was his only answer. So he had indeed been watching...

 

_~~~tbc._

 

_Yup, that was it with the next chapter! Am I making this too boring? I really hope not, but I’m never sure if my stories are any good or not._

_Also, someone mentioned in the comments that it was a cool idea to include the Lich King from WoW. Whelp; I didn’t! Well, I didn’t want to. I never played Warcraft, so I hadn’t even known there was a Lich King there as well. I just looked him up; pretty badass, but a crossover wasn’t what I had in mind here! So if you know WoW and feel like you should picture the villain in my story as him, feel free to, but know that it wasn’t my intention to copy anything from WoW. :_)_

_Also, thank you all for the amazing comments and the neat suggestions! Naturally I can’t include everything you suggest, but feel free to keep commenting with what you’d like to see and I do my best to include some of your ideas! :3_

_Till next chapter!_

_Shad~_

 


	8. Eight Chapter: Holy magic and unholy dreams.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

**Eight Chapter: Holy magic and unholy dreams.**

 

Blue eyes began to close slowly, gaze going out of focus as the hours drew late. It had been a while since Jack was left alone in his room yet again and he had quickly run out of ways to keep himself entertained. He had opted for lazily sitting on the windowsill, the cool wind and snow brushing through his hair. Since the winter spirit hadn’t bothered to close the window of his room the freezing breeze could caress his skin unhindered. Not that he would mind it, being so used to the icy temperatures. The frost teen waited for the time to pass so he could go meet up with Pitch. As much as he hated to admit it, Jack actually looked forward to visiting the dark lair. Not because the nightmare king was there, of course. He just wanted to do something useful and aid his friends in their oncoming battle. It wasn't like he actually _liked_ to spend time with the sinister dark spirit or anything. And he totally wasn’t thinking about MiM’s weird messages anymore, either.

 

Or at least those were the last coherent thoughts of the youngest guardian before he succumbed to sleep. One might say sleeping so close to an open window, with one of his legs dangling out comfortably, wasn't exactly the safest position. But the wind being Jack's oldest friend, the boy had little worries on that part.

 

Jack couldn't have foreseen what other dangers he had just surrendered himself to, of course. If the angry glowing eyes glued to his sleeping form weren’t any indication, then the menacing whine from the horses muzzle sure was. He shouldn't have assumed the nightmare to have left along with Pitch. Because she hadn't and now it was her turn for payback.

 

~.~.~.

 

Pitch found himself leaning over some dusty old tome yet again, fingers trailing over the yellowed pages. The ancient drawing before him was showing an armoured figure wielding a sword that seemed to emit an unearthly glow. With a sigh he continued to read, the tale before him nothing more than a legend, but so far their best shot. If the sword described in the old book truly existed, then it would be just what they needed. The magic sealed within originating from a ancient goddess of light, the perfect weapon to pierce the darkness and break its hold on all of the trapped souls. Without them the Lich King's body would crumble to ashes once more, his vile spirit left behind to be banished again.

 

The only problem with this plan being that he had no idea if the sword truly existed. Even if it did, where to start searching for it? Only the books knew the answer. Dark tendrils slithered from his cloak, trailing up the giant bookshelves and pulling out whatever tome or scroll Pitch needed next. The shadows dropped an extraordinary thick and heavy book in front of their master. This would be a long day indeed.

 

~.~.~.

 

Closing the dusty cover the Nightmare King left the ancient library, ascending the stairs to the higher levels of his lair deep in thought. From what he had gathered from the books and scrolls the most likely place for the sword to be hidden away were the abandoned ruins of the once glorious temples of the goddess. A realm that wasn't easy to access, for it rested as far below ground as Pitch's own dwelling in the nether world. The race that had once worshipped the goddess and had been gifted with the holy artefact had long since vanished. After their extinction their glorious capital had been swallowed by the depths, the white magic and their treasured sword forgotten along with them.

 

Opening an entrance to the now barren and nightmarish realm should be no problem for the Shadowmancer. But after that the real work would start. He had no idea what unholy creatures had chosen to make the ruined city their new home, but they sure weren't anything pleasant to deal with, that much was certain. And to make matters worse, he had to find the well hidden weapon probably guarded by spell traps and ancient magic while the frost boy tagged along.

A frown crossed Pitch’s features at the prospect. He would very much prefer to do this on his own, but there was another thing with weapons embedded with holy magic.

 

Their metal could not be touched by anything that originated from the darkness and shadows like Pitch himself. Just trying to get his hands on it would burn his skin at best, suck his very powers from him at worst. So that was out of the question, he needed the assistance of a creature that drew it's powers from a different source.

 

Jack happened to be one, luckily. Of course he wouldn't admit his weakness to this very weapon to the boy, who knew what the guardians would do with that knowledge later? It was enough for Jack to know that they needed the sword to kill the Lich King and that the boy had to carry it back to the lair. He would probably complain, but Pitch had no doubt that the frost spirit would do it in the end. The boy being so hell bent on showing the guardians that he was useful in battle, he'd much likely do just about anything. A smirk crept on the dark spirits features when he reached the upper levels of his lair. The boys stupid wish to be seen as equal by the other guardians really proved useful.

 

There were some preparations to make, if he wanted to have a portal ready and open by nightfall. He also had to increase security in his lair for the span of time he would be gone. He hardly looked forward to a bunch of undead in his dwelling when he returned. And he better be quick about all of that. It wouldn't be long before Jack showed up; Pitch was sure of it. The overeager boy hardly ever able to control his own curiosity.

 

~.~.~.

 

_Cold sweat was glistening on pale skin, blue eyes searching the darkness surrounding him frantically. What was happening? Where was he? Jack didn’t know, and he didn’t like the feeling of dread that had settled in his stomach one bit. His surroundings were slowly closing in on him, or so it appeared. With shaking hands the frost spirit attempted to grasp onto anything solid within the abyss of blackness he was trapped in. Without much success, since there was absolutely nothing to hold onto._

_After sheer endless minutes of panic rising in his chest, the boy finally heard a familiar voice. ‘Why so scared, Jack?’ A deep chuckle followed and the boy felt a shiver run down his spine. Spinning in circles uselessly and unseeing Jack tried to make out the source of the voice. Nothing. He wanted to call out, to speak, scream, anything, but his lips wouldn’t obey. He was trapped, muted by the darkness pressing down on his throat and utterly helpless. None of these were feelings he really liked, at all. It felt as if Jack's ribcage would burst at any moment with the frantic pounding of his heart._

_When the boy was finally able to make out some of his surroundings, he really wished to still be blinded. All he could see where long, black tendrils of sand crawling towards him from all directions. When they reached the paralysed body of their victim they began to slowly creep up the boys pale legs. Like shadowy fingers they traced Jack's jaw, making the boy fight his restrains harder. The fear was overwhelming by now. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. A sinister laugh echoing in the void surrounding him, the boy clenched his blue eyes shut._

 

The lithe body was shivering, sleeping face contorted into a grimace of distress. Hands gripped the wood of the staff tightly while Jack suffered through the nightmare. He hadn't woken up yet, the dark magic of the shadow horse hovering next to him keeping him in his awful dream world. With a satisfied whinny the mare pulled her muzzle back from where she had it pressed against Jack's temple. That served the awful frost boy just right! She would make sure to turn every of the boys dreams into a horrible nightmare whenever she could from now on. She would show him what it meant to make enemies with a nightmare! The kid would regret messing with her.

 

~.~.~.

 

By now the pole all around the pair on the windowsill was dark, the short hours of light already over. Guards were all over the workshops grounds; the mare had to be careful not to be seen. But naturally the yetis and patrolling elves paid more attention to everything around the building, not its windows. They couldn't know that the naive winter spirit was currently tormented by the angry shadow horse.

 

It would be time for the boy to meet up with her master soon. So she better not keep the stupid sprite asleep for too long. With a low whine the mare lowered her head again, nudging the spirits shoulder. Of course the boy didn't budge, let alone wake up. Snorting in annoyance the horse began to nibble on some strands of white hair, hoping that would wake the little pest. While she let the strange soft texture of the teens' hair distract her, she paid less attention to keeping Jack's dream highly unpleasant. Glowing eyes going half mast, the nightmare forgot her self - proclaimed task to make Jack's dreams hell and just drifted lazily next to the sleeping body. The kid wasn't so annoying when asleep, she noticed.

And he didn't shoo her away like her master usually did, either. So this close proximity, it was rather pleasant.

 

Loosing focus completely, the black creature let her head rest on the boys shoulder while she blew warm breath into his hair. Rather fun, she had to agree. And oddly relaxing. If only the nightmare king would allow her to get this close. Oh how she wished her master would be so careless during his rest. While distracted like this, the mare somehow missed the transformation from the winter spirits _nightmare_ into something else.

 

_Skilled fingers trailed up pale skin, making Jack arch his back. The grip of the dark tendrils around his arms and legs was still strong, but not bruising anymore. They rather kept his body in place than hurt him. A deep chuckle close to his ear made the boy gasp softly. ‘Jack.’ That familiar voice sent shivers down his spine. He tried to turn his head to get a look at his captor, only to feel a strong hand grasp his jaw. A warm body leaned against him from behind. Jack felt his pulse quicken; his cheeks flushed light blue. He was still trapped and bound; but strangely enough there was something else that coiled in the pit of his stomach as well as fear. Excitement. A foreign thrill rushing through the winter spirits veins._

_Pitch's hand that wasn’t holding Jack in place trailed up the boys' front, fingernails grazing the fragile white skin. With another low chuckle the dark spirit pressed down harder, leaving angry red lines over the younger spirits exposed chest. Not deep enough to draw blood, but rough enough to make the boy whimper. ‘Relax, Jack.’_

_There was that voice again. That velvety, deep voice the frost spirit had never found to be so intoxicating before. Another gasp was drawn from slightly parted lips when the nightmare king allowed his fingers to trace the waistband of Jack’s trousers. ‘It won’t hurt.’ The hand holding his jaw in place now trailed down the exposed throat, lips wearing a wicked grin blew warm breath against the boys’ ear. Jack couldn't suppress the low moan that slipped from his lips when those skilled fingers trailed even lower. ‘Much.’ A sharp tug on his hair and pain was the next thing he knew._

 

With a sharp gasp Jack sat up; almost dropping his staff in the process. Blue eyes disoriented and frantic. He was breathing hard, eyes darting around nervously for a moment longer. His cheeks were tinted a light blue, pulse racing. His whole body felt a bit warmer than it should. “ _W- what the-?!_ ”

 

When his eyes landed on a furiously glaring nightmare, blowing hot breath into his hair, the youngest guardian had barely time to leap back inside the guest room. Landing on the floor ungracefully he gasped, raising his staff protectively in front of him. In his dazed and a little confused state, he had totally forgotten that the horse couldn't enter. Angry hooves stomped down on thin air; smoke trailing from flaring nostrils. Boy was that mare _pissed_ . Swallowing thickly when he registered that the creature couldn't follow him, Jack lowered the staff again. What was it with this thing trying to kill him? Seriously. What had he ever done to that stupid horse? And why did she always show up after _that_ kind of dream? Not funny, at all.

 

Slowly getting his erratic breathing back under control the boy sat up, giving the mare an equally angry look. “What do you _want_ from me all the time?! Can't you just _go away_ or something? You hate me, I get it, but that’s no damn reason to _trample_ me in my sleep!”

 

Huffing angrily, the horse kept her distance to the window but didn't vanish. She couldn't enter but she would sure as hell not leave. That infuriating boy wouldn't get away with this! She would teach him to show proper respect when it came to her master! Even when the stupid sprite had just dreamed about Pitch and not really interacted with him. Her nostrils kept emitting dark smoke while she remembered all too vividly what this brat had imagined her beloved master to be doing. It was beyond outrageous! If he thought she would just allow that nosy kid anywhere near her master's bed, he was dead wrong. She'd be damned if she wouldn't try her hardest to prevent that dream from coming true. _Ever._ The next second ugly curtains were drawn shut right before her eyes, the window slammed closed as well. All that glared back at the mare were awful little reindeer now. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

 

~.~.~.

 

Leaning against the wall next to the now closed window Jack sank to his knees, cheeks still a few shades too dark. He brought his hands up to bury his burning face in them; trying his hardest to ignore the embarrassment. So one of Pitch's stupid angry horses had most likely just witnessed him having a nightmare. A nightmare that somehow, _don't ask how,_ turned into some kind of twisted little fantasy of Pitch having his way with him. And Jack _enjoying_ it. _Oh. God._

He was in dire need of serious help. With a frustrated groan he allowed his hands to rest in his lap, holding his precious staff close. “That’s it. I'm slowly going crazy.”

The white haired teen allowed his head to fall back and hit the wall with a soft thud. Glaring up at the ceiling he couldn't help but recall MiM's message. “That's all _your_ fault; you know?” Jack wasn't sure if the man in the moon could hear him, but blaming him made the boy feel a bit better. Not much, but it was a start.

 

So he might be having a certain kind of _feelings_ for Pitch. Or some totally weird kind of crush. Or maybe just attraction. Yeah, that must be it. He felt attracted to the older spirit somehow because of MiM’s stupidity. It wasn't as if he actually _liked_ Pitch, he was just desperate. His stupid body made him react the way he did, not his mind. That was the only reason for the weird sensation in his stomach whenever the dark spirit was close. It was nothing but sexual tension that made him shiver when Pitch leaned in to tease him. Even back in Antarctica, it must have been that what caused the strange tight feeling in his throat. Jack was just touch depraved after a good 300 years of being lonely. This wasn’t about _Pitch,_ it was just about wanting _anybody_ to keep him company! Even if a nagging little voice in the back of his head told the boy otherwise. He mentally screamed at it to shut up and go die in some corner before he got up. That's it, he wouldn't even _think_ about this anymore!

 

With a deep breath the teen cleared his head of any and all weird thoughts concerning Pitch. He had to meet up with the dark spirit about now if they wanted to get anything accomplished tonight, so he better get going instead of fantasizing about-... _yeah_.

About nothing. He was so done with that for tonight. No, not just tonight. In general. Thankfully the encounter with the scary mare had helped his body to cool down after the heated dream pretty fast. Those horses were a serious mood killer. Not that he was complaining right now.

 

With his staff in hand Jack walked over to his bed, grimacing. So he had to actually get _under_ that? Ugh. Pitch was such a creep, for real. Without any enthusiasm the winter spirit crawled beneath the bed, touching the black void beneath it cautiously. It seemed to be nothing but shadows, and it didn't hurt to touch it. So there wasn't any harm in going down there, right? _Right_. The other guardians would sure as hell have argued about that, but they weren't here. Besides, it was their fault Jack had to work together witch Pitch in the first place. If they would have included him in their planes, he wouldn't have to do this. So with one last glance back into the room he descended into the darkness.

 

~.~.~.

 

Stumbling a bit the white haired boy emerged from the shadows slithering on a wall in the entrance hall of Pitch's lair. With wide eyes and gasping for breath Jack looked around, one hand clutching his staff tightly. The dark spirit couldn't help the low laugh. Maybe he should have warned the boy how unpleasant travelling through shadows could be if one was inexperienced? Oh well, too late for that. Pitch stepped up to the other spirit after Jack had spotted him. “You could have _told_ me how _awful_ this is, you know?!”

 

With a shrug Pitch walked past the boy, waving a hand at him so the teen would follow. “Sure I could have, but where’s the fun in that?”

 

It was almost physically painful how hard Jack glared at the others back while he started to tag along. Almost. “ _Screw you..._ ”

 

The older spirit raised a brow at the insult, amused by the boys antics. “Those humans sure have a bad influence on you, Jack.” Rolling his eyes the winter spirit decided not to get into that kind of argument with Pitch right now. They would end up engaged in a shouting match before they even started their search. The only reason he was here to begin with. “Whatever. Let's just get going...”

 

The short journey through a barely lit corridor ended with them standing in front of an ancient looking archway. Jack stood behind the taller spirit, taking in the uninviting blackness before them. “What’s that?” Lifting one hand Pitch began to draw what appeared to be some sort of symbols and runes into the nothingness.

 

“It’s a passage. A sealed one. This will hopefully lead us to where I assume a weapon we could use is hidden.” Nodding in understanding, Jack stood by and watched his former enemy unseal the entrance. Those words didn't sound very promising, but what could he do? There was no way he would ever be able to find that weapon on his own. “And what kind of weapon are we looking for, exactly?”

 

“You'll know when you see it. The magic embedded in it is strong, even _you_ will be able to feel it.” With a huff Jack crossed his arms, otherwise ignoring the comment. He wasn't stupid, contrary to popular believe. Even if he hadn't learned much about magic other than his own in his 300 years of existence. “So, what’s the deal with this place then? What do you need me for, anyway?”

 

There was the question Pitch had hoped to avoid. He didn't take his eyes off of the archway while he finished the last runes. “It's been decades since I last visited this particular realm. I have no idea who, or rather _what,_ will be waiting in there. Consider yourself backup.”

 

Now if that didn’t sound like _fun._ Jack raised his staff when the dark runes before them began to glow in an eerie green light. Okay, creepy. Black magic sure was interesting to look at, but he would have preferred to stay away from it as far as possible. The greenish light intensified, the shadows shifting beneath the symbols.

After a moment however the glow subsided, a heavy door made of black stone becoming visible in the archway. So, this was their gate to this other realm? Great, easier than Jack had imagined it to be to get there. “Alright, here we go.”

 

The guardian reached for the handle before Pitch even had a chance to. He was more than eager to find this weapon and prove himself useful. “I wouldn’t be so careless if I were you. There could be traps and vile creatures lurking around every corner, you know?”

 

Ignoring the nightmare king's remark, the door was pushed open; revealing a staircase carven into old stone. Without many second thoughts the frost spirit stepped into the narrow passage. “Sounds just like your lair to me, and I survived that, too.” A glare was directed at Jack's back when he began walking. The nerve of that boy.

 

“Why am I even putting up with you...” Jack failed to hear the muttered response from his temporary ally while he already climbed the stairs. Pitch followed, not wanting his companion getting killed before they even made it past the threshold of the lost city. He needed the boy to get the sword back to his lair, after all.

 

“Is it just me or does it smell like something is rotting down here?” The Shadowmancer had caught up with Jack, noticing the strange fragrance as well. They reached the end of the stairs, light shining through the cracks of the old door now before them. This time it was Pitch to open it, his shadows easily slipping into the lock and making the old metal give way. Once on the other side of the door, they were quick to locate the origin of the awful stench. They stepped into an abandoned temple, a half broken statue of a snake like goddess next to the entrance. Someone had apparently placed bowls full of strange glowing fruits and mushrooms in front of it. Quite a while ago, from the looks of it. Jack made a face at the decaying sacrifices for the stone goddess.

 

“ _Ew._ If I where her, I'd be pissed if someone offered me crap like that.” Pitch just rolled his eyes at the boys comment, stepping farther into the ruined building. So far he couldn't sense any ancient magic, nor any warding spells or enchanted guardians. This was odd. He had expected the dwellers of the domain to be around the old entrance.

 

“Well, whoever left those sacrifices can't be too far away, so we better make this quick.” Jack nodded, not to keen on finding out what kind of creepy things lived in a ruined cave city underground, worshipping a snake lady. He looked around the broken down walls and cracked pillars. Once upon a time this place must have been a true work of craftsmanship. “Any clue on where to start?”

 

Pitch lead the way to a destroyed wall to their right, getting a good view over the rest of the city. The temple they currently stood in was craven into solid stone, the other buildings below them in what seemed to be a giant underground cave. Really, it was _huge_. To think that a city this big existed so far underground was breathtaking.

There was a strange sort of gloomy light fluttering in from cracks in the caves' ceiling, too high up for Jack to make out where it came from exactly. It wasn't daylight, that much was for sure. The crumbling buildings stretched far, filling the whole cave. The stone walls on the other end weren't even visible to the guardian. Between the ruined houses below grew strange tree - like plants, all of them giving off the same weird glow like the rotting fruit.

 

One could only imagine what this place must have looked like in its prime. Everything was artfully crafted, but slowly succumbing to the nature that claimed it back. From their high position it was easy to make out an extraordinary big building, not that far away from their current location. From afar Jack guessed it to be a palace of some kind, or maybe a bigger temple. Next to him Pitch gave a thoughtful hum, finally deciding to let the guardian in on his plan.

 

“The sword we're searching for is a holy artefact, a gift from one of the goddesses the villagers worshipped. Or so the books claim.”

 

Jack listened while following the taller spirit cautiously through the ruins. He didn't feel all that safe surrounded by creepy glowing plants and old stone. “It's been decades since the citizens vanished. But according to my tomes, the sword should still be here.”

 

Okay, to say that Jack felt insecure down here was the understatement of the year. There was no wind whatsoever, so he was stuck with walking. The whole ruined city felt cold and smelled like mould. Not even starting on the damp air around them. Pitch obviously knew a lot about this awful place though, so the winter spirit didn't have problems with letting the other lead.

 

“Finding it will be a bit of a problem, tough. Our best shot is probably the main temple.” Assuming that the Shadowmancer was talking about the huge building they had spotted earlier, Jack just nodded. Blue eyes watched the broken walls and looming houses around them wearily. He couldn't help the feeling that something was watching them. Probably just his own paranoia, because he was not used to being underground for so long, but better safe than sorry. The guardians hands never left his staff during their little journey through the lifeless streets of the abandoned capital. He tried to identify the materials the buildings around them had been made of, but he hadn't encountered anything like it before. Neither was any of the plants or trees familiar to him. Not to mention the glowing giant mushrooms. A slight shudder was running down his spine.

 

“As long as we get out of here quickly again, I’m good.”

 

~.~.~.

 

When they finally reached the once proud temple building, Jack allowed his guard to drop a little. So far nothing too bad had happened, aside from him almost stumbling into walls and ancient pit traps. Thankfully he had managed to avoid getting impaled by wooden spears a while ago by grabbing onto Pitch's cloak. Needless to say that the look the older spirit had given him made Jack let go again like he had been burned. A little bit of awkward silence had followed that incident, broken by Pitch when the dark spirit decided to talk about the forgotten culture some more. Not that the guardian of fun cared all that much, but anything was better than walking next to your once enemy in total silence.

 

Neither of them were sure how long it had taken them to get to the temple, the strange light from above never changing its angle or getting darker. While Jack wandered about behind Pitch, much more at ease now that they were out of the narrow streets, the nightmare king was on edge. If the sword was really hidden away in here, there sure as hell was something protecting it. It was strange enough that they hadn't encountered any of the new habitants of this place by now. Everything about the maze that was this temple just spelled _danger._

He glanced over his shoulder at the frost spirit, currently busy freezing some weird glowing plant. Yeah, it was up to him to prevent them both from being killed, obviously. “Try _not_ to touch _anything,_ alright?”

 

An annoyed huff was the answer. “Come on, Pitch! So far we’ve seen nothing but stone, rubble and creepy plants! What's the worst that can happen?” As if on cue Jack's bare feet landed on a stone plate that sunk into the ground, the spirit cringing at the sound of it. Pitch barely had time to react. Stepping in front of the foolish frost boy, he raised a wall of shadows before them both. Successfully blocking a barrage of deadly arrows that came shooting from the opposite wall. When he allowed his shield to vanish a few dozen arrows clattered to the stone floor. He gave Jack a look before stepping away from him again.

 

“ _Whops..._ ” Okay, so he had not seen that coming. But really, who could guess that there were traps embedded in the freaking _ground_? This place was just horrible and the sooner they found that weapon and got out of there, the better. Jack followed the taller spirit deeper into the temple, avoiding any other traps. Thankfully Pitch was much better in detecting any hidden pressure plates and similar stuff. The older spirits shadows slithered over the stone floor, searching for traces of magic or other, more deadly stuff.

Just when Jack got distracted by some bug that had at least ten legs, ( _how the hell does that thing have so many legs?!_ ) Pitch stopped. Naturally, the frost spirit walked right into him with a startled yelp. “ _What the-?!_ ”

 

A tendril of shadow silenced the boy before he could go on. Jack's eyes went wide, hands gripping the shade out of instinct, trying to pry it off. _Whoa,_ that was way too similar to a certain dream he recently had to be comfortable. Feeling his cheeks heat up a little he glared at the dark spirit. Pitch on the other hand didn't pay any attention to the guardian behind him. Golden eyes were fixed on the path before them, leading up to a big double door.

 

“This door is heavily guarded. Whatever lies behind it must be important. If we're careful, maybe we can make it in without triggering the warding spells.”

 

An annoyed huff was the only answer he got from Jack. Finally the shadows retreated, allowing the frost spirit to use his mouth again. “Was that _really necessary_?!”

 

Pitch just shrugged before he slowly advanced on the entrance. “Knowing you, you'd probably walk right up there like some idiot.” Sure, like he was _that_ stupid! What did that arrogant king take him for? Ugh. The way people treated him lately was beyond frustrating, really.

 

With an annoyed sigh Jack crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning back against a wall. He watched the older spirit with little interest while Pitch tried to untangle the threads of magic sealing the doors. Why did it take so long to un - weave some stupid ancient spell? Couldn't they just blast the doors open or something? Probably not. Who knows what that would trigger? Jack didn't exactly look forward to finding out what the magical traps did. The normal ones were bad enough.

 

While he observed the others work quietly from afar, the winter spirit failed to notice something moving above him. A fatal mistake, because the creature slowly descending the wall was anything but friendly. Its scaled body barely made a sound while it slithered along the cracked stone and plant roots. Clawed fingers reached out for the unaware guardian, deadly fangs bared. Just as the monstrous creature was about to pounce on its prey, did Jack look up. A chocked scream tore from the boys' throat while he stumbled backwards. Barely avoiding the talons that clawed across the wall where he had been standing a second ago.

 

Holy crap, what _is_ that?! Jack hadn't expected to actually meet anything living down here, much less something as horrendous as _that_ ! He scrambled away from the creature on the wall, fingers searching for his staff while his eyes were still fixed on the snake like monster. It had an almost humanoid body shape. At least from the waist up, because the lower half of it was nothing but a scaled tail with odd fins sticking out at different angles. The upper body was what frightened Jack more, because holy hell, those _teeth_ ! It had a lot of them. In fact, more than any creature should ever have! Dirty, ragged strands of hair cascaded down the female looking upper body. It's hands were also scaled and ending in gruesome looking talons. There were no visible eyes on its head, only the inhumanly large mouth filled with a few rows of razor sharp teeth. Oh god, and the _stench_ of it! Like that _thing_ lived in nothing but dirt and mould and rotting plants!

 

“ _What the_ -?!” Everything happened way too fast for Jack's liking. The creature leapt off of the wall with a kind of speed the guardian didn't know it possessed. A blood freezing wail tore from the deformed mouth when it landed right in front of Jack. Talons reached for the staff before he could even use it, pressing the arm holding it down. Now the awful smelling monster was looming over the white haired spirit, rows and rows of sharp teeth snapping at him. It took all his strength to push the horrible snake lady back with his remaining free hand. His fingers iced over the monsters shoulder, but that only seemed to make it angrier. Gasping for breath and desperately trying to fend off the beast, Jack cried out.

 

“ _Pitch!_ I could use some help here!”

 

When there was no immediate answer blue eyes scanned the room for the dark spirit over his shoulder, still struggling to keep the thing above him at bay. Apparently the stinking snake hadn't come alone. The older spirit was currently busy fighting off at least three more of those things with his scythe. So Jack was on his own for now. Just _great_.

Another gurgling wail and his attention snapped back to the monster he was currently fighting. Her tail had wedged itself between the winter spirits legs, the lower part of it curling around his left ankle. It felt cold and kind of slimy where it touched his bare feet. _Eww._

 

The wood of his staff creaked threateningly where the talons dug into it, forcing it down. Jack couldn't even feel his hand anymore, so strong was the grip this monster had on him. “L- let _go!_ ” He all but screamed at the creature, but of course her grip remained iron like. Jack's hand pushing her away grew weaker under the enormous weight and began to give. Snapping yaws coming closer, saliva dripping onto his hoodie. _Ewwww._

 

A sharp pain in his side made him cry out again, the talons of the hand that wasn't holding Jack's staff down had cut into his side. And boy, did that _hurt!_ Why does this beast have to have claws _this sharp_ ?! _Gods!_

 

Finally managing to get one of his feet free he began to kick at the massive tail. More shrieking and agonising wails leaving the horrible mouth. The grip around his left leg began to tighten, her tail cutting off the blood flow. With a pained gasp Jack lashed out again, freezing the skin on the arm that had wounded him. His side throbbed dully when the snake pulled her talons back, only to bring them down on the guardians' neck. Not good!

 

He could feel the strength of that monster crushing his windpipe. He still pushed her head away the best he could, but he couldn't breathe anymore. Crap, he could really use some help right about now! When black dots began to dance in front of his eyes, he was pretty sure that he would die there. Chocked to death by a scary snake lady with a bazillion teeth ready to eat him. Not the end he had imagined for himself. Not at all.

 

Jack's lungs burned painfully and he felt himself becoming light headed. Just when his grip on the beasts' head loosened and she came diving down to bite into him, he felt a swipe of air right above his face. The pain he had expected didn't come, instead he was slowly losing consciousness. Right before his vision faded to black the guardian felt something hot splattering onto his face. Hopefully that thing wasn't drooling on him again...

 

~~~tbc.

 

_Annnd here we go with the next chapter!_ _I’m curious; is anybody still reading this story?_ _Because it would be kind of pointless to keep writing on something that everybody lost interest in. A few reviews would be appreciated, letting me know if you’d still like to read more of C &N. If some of you still want to know what happens next, I’ll continue! :3 _ _Also, that's no drool don't worry, Jack :_D_

_Shad~_

 


	9. Ninth Chapter: Beating hearts and dead bodies.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

**Ninth Chapter: Beating hearts and dead bodies.**

 

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was the biting pain in his chest. It felt as if his throat was on fire; or his lungs had burned from the inside out. Even breathing hurt and Jack was sure he would have been better off if he had stayed unconscious. At least he wouldn’t feel so awful then. The guardian tried to move his hands; only one responded. Okay, that wasn’t _good_. Opening blue eyes slowly he blinked a couple of times to get adjusted to the almost darkness of the room. Why was it so dark in here? And where the hell was he in the first place? Moving his head to look around hurt too damn much, so he just stayed still. His eyes adjusted to the dim light slowly and he could make out the black stone walls opposite from him. Alright, so he was in some sort of room. Now he only had to remember why.

 

It took a few more moments, or maybe minutes, for the boy to get his bearings. Memories of the crazy snake monster in that awful city came rushing back and his eyes widened. The wave of panic faded quickly however, if he was still somewhere in that passage with those monsters he would have been dead by now. So someone had obviously saved him from getting devoured by that beast. And from the looks of the room he currently was in; that someone had to be Pitch. _Great,_ now he actually _owed_ the nightmare king...

 

Agonisingly slow the winter spirit managed to lift his upper body from the bed he was laying on. Searing pain shot up his side and with a gasp he fell back down. Okay, that _hurt._ With the one hand that was working properly Jack felt around the side of his hoodie where the awful stab of pain had come from. It hurt to just graze his fingers over the wound, some sort of bandage preventing him from directly touching the injured flesh. With a grimace he noticed the torn and bloodied fabric of his favourite article of clothing. Great, that horrible snake lady had ruined his hoodie! And his body as well, mind you. Another pained sigh and Jack brought his fingers down on his hurting neck, feeling talon - shaped bruises. Man, that smelly creature really had done a number on him. He couldn’t even get up for the sake of it!

 

With little options but resting himself back onto the soft black covers the guardian of fun let his gaze drift through the room again. Next to the four poster bed he had been dropped off onto, his staff leaned against a wall. The dim light was coming from some sort of oil lamp standing on a desk not too far away. Tomes and scrolls were scattered across the dark table, dust collecting on almost every surface. The only clean piece of furniture in the unused room seemed to be the bed. Apparently the dark spirit frequented this place rarely. A few bookshelves and chandeliers decorated the walls as well as some paintings Jack couldn’t really see from his current position. He couldn’t make out a door to this chamber either, but it’s not like Pitch would need one to access any part of his lair.

 

To say that the large bed wasn’t comfortable would have been a lie, but Jack still wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. He hated being trapped somewhere, and the not existing door didn’t help matters much. Now that he was awake he could already feel his magic working, slowly closing his wounds and mending the abused flesh. It would take a few days to heal all of the injuries for sure, but at least the pain got more tolerable. Moaning in agony the winter spirit sat up, legs dangling over the edge of the king sized bed. With his working hand he pushed the black curtains hanging into his face out of the way and got up. Or tried to; at least. It didn’t work all that greatly. In fact, he only made it half way off the bed before he sat down again, holding his side. _Ow._ He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been in this much pain. Damn those scaled creatures lurking around that awful city! Next time they crossed paths he would make sure they got a good piece of ice shoved into their ugly faces! Crap, why couldn’t his body stop _hurting_ so much?

 

From his new sitting upright position Jack had a good view of a large mirror; it was covered by a fine layer of dust as well. Still clean enough to get a nice view of the deep purple bruises on his neck. Wow, those looked worse than he had imagined. Also, what was all that stuff on his skin? Leaning a bit closer without straining his injuries too much the winter spirit touched pale fingers to his cheek. In the dim light it looked like black ink had been splattered across his face and neck, now dried on his skin. Another scowl worked its way on Jack’s features when he noticed how soiled with the dark liquid his hoodie truly was. He really hoped that stuff would wash out, whatever it was.

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Jack didn’t even flinch when the familiar smooth voice filled the room. Maybe he was getting used to the other spirit’s weird way of appearance by now. The guardian didn’t bother to take his eyes off of the mirror, still examining the dried ink. “It’s not _your_ blood.”

 

At those words Jack let his hand fall back from his cheek. His blue eyes widened and for a moment he thought he was going to be sick. So, that wasn’t _ink._ Ugh. Could this get any more disgusting? A shudder ran down his spine and he had to look away from his own image. Nope, he wasn’t going to think about dried _blood_ on his face right now. Turning his body around; wincing at the movement, Jack looked up to see the dark spirit emerging from the shadows. Pitch looked every bit as regal and proud as ever, so apparently he had fared much better in his fight with the snake monsters. At least for him it wasn’t painful to move, Jack noted with a grim look on his features. For a moment all the taller spirit did was muster Jack with a judging gaze, making the teen feel all kinds of uncomfortable. Thankfully the golden eyes didn’t stay on him for too long and Pitch walked around the bed.

 

“I see you’re up already. Good, I was worried I would have to deliver your _corpse_ back to the other guardians.” Jack glared up at Pitch, wishing he had the strength to get up and wipe that smirk off of the other spirits’ lips. His anger was short lived however, he felt too worn out and tired to lash out. Instead of throwing a few choice words back at the nightmare king, the boy rested his body against the headboard. “Thanks for your _concern_. What happened?”

 

Shadows danced and slithered over the stone floor around their master while Pitch leaned back against the desk behind him. “You were almost killed by one of the wardens.” The Shadowmancer shrugged at those words as if it wasn’t anything serious. Jack’s glare turned even darker. He would have crossed his arms if he could.

 

“I _know_ that much. What happened afterwards?” Golden eyes met blue again. “You passed out. I beheaded the warden before it could eat you and brought you here.”

 

His stomach lurched uncomfortably at those words. He really hadn’t needed that detail about the snake things death. Also, that meant all that stuff on his upper body was creepy snake lady blood. _Ugh_. Jack was really thankful that he hadn’t eaten anything before heading to the lair; or else he would have long since seen it again.

 

Dismissing any thoughts about gruesome slaughter from his mind the frost spirit tried to focus on their task again. They didn’t go there just to get almost killed after all.

 

“Did you get the sword?” The look on Pitch’s face told it all, Jack didn’t even need an answer. Damn it, so they hadn’t even been able to make sure the weapon was hidden in that temple in the first place? They had to go back again. Another shudder worked down the teens’ spine at that. Yeah, he _so_ looked forward to that. With a defeated sigh the guardian leaned his head back. “So we didn’t accomplish _anything_ just yet! _Great..._ ”

 

This wasn’t how he had imagined their plan to go, at all. In his mind Jack would have been back to the pole by now, healthy and in good spirits with the magical weapon secure in Pitch’s lair. And in reality? In reality he was in an awful lot of pain, had more bruises than he could count and was covered in _snake blood_. Why was life so unfair all the time?

 

“Don’t act like it was _my_ fault, Jack. I wasn’t the one who ended up almost dead, just to remind you.” Yeah, of course Pitch was right about that. But really, nobody had said anything about giant beasts with millions of teeth wanting to devour him. How could he have been prepared for _that_?

 

“Whatever...” Frustration was evident in his voice and Jack couldn’t bring himself to care or hide it. What now? It would take him _days_ to heal! They didn’t have that much time with that crazy Necromancer on the loose! What about the other guardians? They needed that weapon! What if they charged into battle without it? They wouldn’t stand a chance. The youngest guardian could already feel a headache coming. He wasn’t made for this kind of thing! Battling horrendous monsters and hunting for magical artefacts only sounded good in fairy tales. The real thing was far from an amazing adventure.

 

A cool sensation on his neck brought Jack back to the present. With a soft gasp and wide eyes he realized just how close he was to the nightmare king. Trapped in his thoughts Jack hadn’t even noticed that the other had moved. Pitch was seated on the edge of the bed now, right next to the younger spirit. For a moment Jack tried to scramble back on the bed out of instinct; only to bump his head into the headboard of the bed. The dark spirit just raised a brow at the boys' shocked expression.

 

“Come now, Jack. Surely you’ve noticed that there are far _worse_ things than me out there to be afraid of by now.”

 

Pitch’s voice had that mocking undertone again and Jack released the breath he had been holding. Right, there was no reason to be scared of the dark spirit right now. They were working together after all. He just hadn’t expected the sudden close proximity of the other.

 

Relaxing his sore muscles a bit more Jack watched the older spirit reach out one hand. The coolness he had felt moments ago returned to his skin, Pitch’s fingers tracing the ring of purplish bruised flesh around Jack’s neck. Unsure of what to expect from the unfamiliar contact the winter spirit opted for just sitting still. The burning pain in his throat lessened and Jack could make out the faint traces of dark magic working on healing his skin. Oh, so Pitch could do that as well? He never knew. So far the guardian hadn’t believed the other to be capable of healing spells. Not that he had seen much of the man's magic so far, aside from the destructive force used against the guardians. Looks like there was more to those dark powers than wrecking havoc after all.

 

While the Shadowmancer focused on the fading bruises on Jack’s skin, the winter spirit had trouble to calm his racing pulse. He hadn’t been this close to Pitch before, at least not on friendly terms. And to feel that those hands were capable of more than just wielding a deadly scythe left Jack’s body shivering. He really, _really_ shouldn’t be thinking those things right now, but he couldn’t help himself. Whenever the nightmare king touched his skin, if only light enough to work his magic, it made the guardians cheeks heat up. The strange tight feeling in his stomach returned full force, and this time he couldn’t blame it on fear. He had no reason to be scared while all Pitch did was tending to his wounds. As strange of a concept as that was, it wasn’t something to be afraid of.

 

So if it wasn’t fear that made Jack feel that way towards the dark spirit, then _what_ ? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer. And he desperately hoped that the other wouldn’t notice the way his body tensed or his palms began to sweat. _Gods,_ he was messed up. Badly. If any of the other guardians could see him right now they sure would suffer from a heart attack. Well, all but Bunny. The rabbit would probably skip that and go right to screaming bloody murder. Jack cringed a little at the thought. Yeah, he would so _never_ tell anybody of his messed up feelings. Having them in the first place was bad enough.

 

It took him a while but the frost sprite finally mustered up the courage to speak and actually got his mouth to comply. “W- what are you doing?” Wow, that was a stupid question, even for his standards. Jack wanted to mentally slap himself. Here he was, sitting in his old nemesis’ lair, blushing and stuttering like some schoolgirl. He should have asked North about that spirit therapist instead of joining forces with Pitch. The latter thankfully didn’t seem to pay much attention to Jack’s wavering voice, still busy with his spell. “Healing you, _obviously.”_

 

He had figured that much out on his own. But a snappy answer was the best he could have expected after asking such a retarded question. Forcing down the rising heat in his belly and trying to stop his hands from trembling, Jack looked anywhere but at Pitch.

 

“I can see that. But _why_?” Yeah, that was something he _really_ wanted to know. Sure, they had called a truce, but that didn’t exactly mean the Boogeyman had to play babysitter for Jack and save his butt 24/7. Not that the winter spirit wasn’t thankful for that, it was just weird for the dark spirit to be so... civil.

 

Withdrawing his hand from the boys neck Pitch offered him a questioning stare. “If it somehow slipped your mind _,_ we still need that sword. And you don’t seem to be in any condition to go back there just yet. I don’t plan on waiting _forever_ for you to heal.”

 

The Shadowmancers’ voice sounded as arrogant and carefree as ever, demeanour not changing the slightest bit from his usual self. Alright, so maybe Jack was just reading too much into Pitch’s actions. Of course he didn’t have the patience to sit around and wait while the guardian recovered. It was only logical to speed the process up somehow. Still, Jack couldn’t help the irrational part of his mind that told him that Pitch cared about his well being. At least a little bit. But then again, he was obviously going slightly mad, so that was most likely his imagination.

 

“ _Whoa_ \- what the-?!” Focused on his thoughts the guardian had missed the other spirits’ movement yet again. Ghostly pale fingers had grasped onto the tattered fabric of his hoodie, lifting it up to reveal his bandaged side. The Nightmare King just rolled his eyes, his free hand pressing Jack’s upper body back into the cushion.

 

“Will you hold still for five minutes? Seriously...” So, Pitch wanted to heal that wound as well? _Uhm_. Okay, he hadn’t expected that. The light blue-ish tinge across the teens face grew darker and he turned his head to stare at the opposite wall. Trying his hardest to think about anything else but the hand loosening the bandages on his midriff, Jack willed the heat to go away. He really needed to calm his stupid body down some, or else this whole situation would turn ten times more awkward for him. And if possible the guardian would _really_ like to avoid that.

 

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching from a dark corner of the room. Pitch too focused on weaving his magic and Jack too distracted by his hormones going crazy. It was probably for the better that the boy didn’t notice the glare directed at him, though. The last thing he needed right now was to know about the return of the jealous steed from hell...

 

~.~.~.

 

North looked over the pinned down map in front of him again; his eyes growing weary while the hours grew later and later. As tired as he was, he just couldn’t afford to rest now. Their enemy had so far successfully avoided any and all patrols and tracking spells. The vile creature was still hidden and the guardians had no means to find him. With a frustrated groan the old man turned from the large table and strode towards the main room. They couldn’t do more but keep up their search. Ever since the Lich King became aware that they were searching for him, he had ceased most of his activities.

 

North was no fool, he knew the monster was just waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He was probably organizing his minions and followers right now, just like the guardians were organizing their defences. Once the bulky Russian stepped into the big hall he took in his friends’ appearances.

Tooth looked worn out, she and her faeries barely had a moment of rest lately. Between their duty of collecting teeth and flying on patrols or search parties there was just no time. Sandy was sitting on a comfortable couch not too far off, sleeping. The little guy always had trouble staying awake for too long. Striding past him North decided not to wake him, he had been busy fighting off living corpses all around the globe these past few days after all. For now elvish warriors and harpy scouts had taken over his patrols and protected the villages and cities. North's eyes settled on another pair in the room.

 

“All we could find was another graveyard, empty like the last few. I don’t even want to imagine how the bodies look like after he unearths them.” Her feathers bristled while the tall harpy talked. Next to her Bunnymund scoffed.

 

“Not pretty, that much is for sure. We can’t stop him from raiding graveyards, though. We have enough trouble keeping him away from the living humans already.”

His face turned grim when the oldest guardian passed the two, listening in on their conversation. This wasn’t good. The more corpses that insane menace got under his control, the harder he would be to beat in the end. If only they could find him, engage him in a fight and weaken him. But for now all they could do was save as many humans from the influence of the undeads' vile magic as possible. And put those to rest who were unfortunate enough to have already fallen victim to the Lich King. Not a pretty task, but it had to be done.

 

~.~.~.

 

Groaning in annoyance Jamie flipped on the TV, sitting back on his bed. This was the second weekend in a row that his mother wouldn't let him go outside at all! She was so upset about what had been going on with that teacher that it took her three days to even allow the boy to go to school again. It was frustrating! Sure, there was some scary stuff going on with all those people vanishing or committing suicide lately, but he wasn't one of them! In fact, he was pretty content with his life and had no plans of ending it any time soon. Of course that didn't convince his worrying mother, so all the teenage boy could do was watch TV and sulk in his room. Not even his girlfriend was allowed to come over. This sure sucked big time.

 

At least Jack could show up again sometime soon. He had told Jamie not to worry, that he would fix whatever it was that had been going on, but so far he hadn't heard anything from the guardian of fun. What if not even the guardians could fix this? Jamie didn't even want to think about it.

 

“ _The police strongly advices to stay away from desolate places, especially at night. As long as it isn't known what happened to the missing people no one should leave the house alone after nightfall.”_ Yeah, no wonder his mother was so worried if all they showed on the news was stuff like that. Jamie rolled his eyes in annoyance, surely people weren't stupid enough to wander about alone at night after everything that had been going on. His attention switched back to the lady on the TV screen.

 

“ _\- alerted the police that the local graveyard had been raided by unknown criminals. If witnesses saw or heard anything strange in the night to saturday, they are to inform their local police station.”_ There were definitely some crazy people out there. Who would actually open old graves to steal dead bodies? And what did anybody even want with old bones? This world got weirder every day. With a shudder Jamie turned the TV off again, walking out of his room to see if Sophie was up for some video games. He really needed some entertainment.

 

~.~.~.

 

Blue eyes stared up at the dark ceiling in disdain. Jack had been alone for some time now, Pitch had left after he was finished with closing the nasty gashes on the winter spirits side. The dark spirit said he would be checking in on the progress his nightmares had made with tracking down the Lich King. With those words he had vanished into the shadows that danced across the walls. There was still no door, so the guardian was left in Pitch’s room with no way out. But right now he was way to worn out to worry about that. It’s not like there was anything in here that could harm him. Assuming that all the dust wouldn’t try to eat him, of course. The other spirit would return soon enough, and until then Jack really needed some rest.

 

At least, that was what logic told him. Now if only his stupid _mind_ would stop thinking about the way the nightmare king’s touch had felt on his skin. It was almost impossible for the boy to imagine that this cruel dark being had been so gentle while healing him. Another shudder raked down the frost spirits back. Why, just _why_ couldn’t he stop those thoughts?!

 

Jack moved his injured wrist over his eyes, successfully blocking out the dim light of the oil lamp. Not that the action helped much with blocking out the not so innocent thoughts in his head. Those were rather persistent. Gingerly lifting his other, uninjured arm the guardian let his fingers graze over his neck. The pain had almost vanished, leaving him only a bit sore. Fingertips touched the same places Pitch had not so long ago. His skin still felt a bit too warm there; his heart still beating a little bit too fast. The fading blush on the winter spirits face returned full force, eyes pressed close. Despite what the rational part of his brain was telling him, Jack couldn’t help himself. His hand mimicked the other spirits' touches while his mind recalled that deep voice taunting him. A shudder ran through the teens' body, muscles tensing just a bit. This was so many levels of _wrong,_ yet the guardian couldn't bring himself to care right now.

 

The more sinful part of his mind was already busy recalling the dream he'd had the other day. How it had felt to have those hands caress his bare skin, sharp nails leaving angry red lines in their wake. Pitch's form pressed against him from behind, trapping him, never breaking contact. Those lips whispering dark words so full of promise into his ear. A soft gasp pierced the silence of the room. Jack's own hand pushed the tattered fabric out of the way, leaving his stomach bare. The chill of the dusty air biting at the milky white skin forced his breathing to quicken, heartbeat speeding up. Blue eyes were still closed, imagination running wild with flashes of the dream as well as their other encounters. There wasn’t a trace of fear in the boys' body, all Jack could feel was _excitement_ . The thrill of being so close to something so _wicked_ . It was tempting. _Pitch_ was tempting.

 

Only imagining the touch of those hands roaming over his body was enough to make the winter spirit moan. It was a low sound, muffled by Jack's hand still draped over his face. He didn’t want to open his eyes right now. To see, to _acknowledge,_ what he was doing. It would only ruin the moment. Forcing his own mind to shut down for a little bit, he concentrated on feeling instead of thinking. It was all he wanted right now. And it worked perfectly fine.

 

His cheeks were burning by now; skin growing hot beneath his own touches. Hoodie riding up on his chest, exposing more skin as well as the healing wounds. Scar tissue still taut over the tender flesh. Jack’s hand however was no longer tracing the skin of his stomach, instead sliding lower. His fingers hesitated for a second on the hem of his pants, contemplating if they should continue their journey. Did he really want to do this? _Here_ of all places? The heat pooling in his abdomen made the decision for him. What did it matter? He just needed to get those thoughts out of his system. And acting on them seemed like a good enough way to accomplish that. At least to his currently very clouded mind.

Another gasp, accompanied by the cool touch of his fingers on hot flesh. He really disliked how cold his own hands felt, but right now it was easy enough to dismiss. Unfastening his pants Jack's breathing became erratic, finally taking a hold of himself. His mind still conjured up the silky dark voice easy enough, calling his name. A hot mouth biting and sucking the flesh of his neck; marking him. Claiming him. Arching his back Jack recalled his dream, where it hadn't been his own hands that touched him like this, but Pitchs. Only unlike the dream it didn't stop just there. No, there was no way he would have been able to stop right now.

 

Gasps and low moans got louder, filling the dark room. Jack’s hand stroking him to completion picked up its pace; matching his ragged breaths. He bit down on his wrist, still covering his face. It didn't do much to stop the moans escaping his throat. Thoughts of the nightmare king above him, kissing and licking his burning skin fuelled the fire in the pit of Jack's stomach even more. He couldn’t think straight anymore. Another arch of the slender back, a vivid image of Pitch's mouth claiming Jack's, a jerk of the boys hips. And that was it. With a high pitched moan he came undone. His body tense in this blissful moment of pleasure. He felt like drowning and burning up all at once.

 

It was over just as quickly, overheated body still covered in a fine layer of sweat. Blue eyes still closed, hand still hiding his face. For a few moments he did nothing at all, just laying there on the silky sheets, catching his breath. When Jack’s racing pulse slowly returned to normal and his heated body began to cool down, the winter spirit opened his eyes. Lips still parted and mind hazy he lifted his hand up. Gaze locked on the traces of his own release coating his fingers Jack felt like drowning all over again. Only this time it was far from pleasant.

 

Sitting up too quickly for his worn body's liking, the youngest guardian wiped his hand clean on his already ruined hoodie. Eyes wide with the shock of what he had just done. _Who_ he had thought about while doing it. After tying his pants back up and pulling the rest of his clothing into place the weight of his actions began to settle in. An awful feeling of dread settled in his gut while blue eyes stared unfocused at nothing.

 

Why had he done that? Just what had possessed him to go down _that_ road? This was bad. No, not just bad. This was the _worst_ . He was a _guardian._ And Pitch was the _enemy._ No matter that they worked together briefly, he was still their enemy! And to make matters worse, it wasn’t even _Pitch_ who had lured him into those sinful actions. It was his _own_ twisted, weird mind that _wanted_ this.

Oh gods, he was so screwed. How could he deny his feelings for the dark spirit now? That wasn't just some weird attraction that Jack felt whenever the Shadowmancer was close to him. In fact, Pitch hadn't even been present _at all_ . So there was no one but himself that he could blame right now. The white haired teen buried his face in his palms; shaking his head weakly. “ _What the hell is wrong with me..._ ”

 

~.~.~.

 

Golden eyes glared daggers at the mist cloaked globe, willing the dreaded dark magic to vanish and reveal its masters hideout. His trusty nightmares still hadn’t managed to get a glimpse of the Necromancer, nor had they been able to gather information about his plans. Pitch was completely in the dark, literally. He didn't know when or where the crazy spirit would attack. He had no idea how long they had to find the sacred weapon before the inevitable battle. It had become apparent that the Lich wasn't taking any chances. No, he would wait and gather his strength before the final strike. Make sure his army was ready and strong enough to stand against the forces of good. But how long would it take? How many souls had he already devoured to strengthen his vile magic? How many bodies entombed to use as his puppets? Pitch didn’t know. So far all he knew was that the insane menace was back for good and had way more power than the creature ever deserved.

 

Eyes still fixed on the slowly spinning globe it took him a moment to realize that his shadows had become restless. Something wasn’t right. A dark aura filled the entrance hall of the lair; followed swiftly by the sickeningly sweet scent of decay. Narrowing his eyes the nightmare king turned, ready to face the unwelcome visitor. At least now he had a good idea where the crazed Necromancer was lurking around. Not that he liked the idea of that creature in his lair, but he couldn't keep the Lich out, even if he wanted. That monster had his methods to get access to any realm he wished. And sadly, right now he also had the power to do so.

 

“ _Ah, what a pleasure to see you again, old friend. Have you missed me?_ ” Golden eyes widened for a split second before Pitch's expression became blank once more. He had expected another mindless puppet, not the Necromancer himself. The initial shock of seeing the other spirit personally before him was quickly snuffed out. This would be trouble, he knew it. Getting rid of the _real_ one would be much more complicated than deposing of the rotted body he had used as his messenger the last time.

Keeping his gaze levelled the nightmare king didn’t sound too thrilled when he answered. “What do you want? I think I made it clear that I don’t wish to see your puppets _or_ _you_ in my domain.”

 

A wicked smile stretched on the face of the man that could have been described as handsome; if it weren’t for the unhealthy hue of his skin. He wasn’t intimidated by Pitch, nor was he bothered by the hostility he received. In fact, he was completely ignoring that he wasn’t welcome. With slow but steady steps he walked over to the other dark spirit.

 

“Ah, I was trapped for so long, and this is how you welcome me after all this time? I'm _disappointed._ ” The smile on the necromancers’ lips never disappeared, his greyish skin a sharp contrast to the dark clothing. Pitch couldn’t hide the slight scowl when he took in the others appearance. He hadn’t changed at all. The same medieval outfit on the same youthful body. A body he had made his own long ago, stolen from a mortal that must have been royalty once. At least that's the story his aristocratic features and finely tailored clothing told. Then again, during his first banishment the Necromancer was reduced to nothing but ashes and an insane soul. So he was probably just taking on this look with means of his magic for old times sake. “Still borrowing that face I see. Don't you grow tired of it?”

 

A nonchalant shrug was the answer Pitch received. “It’'s quite fitting, don't you agree? Besides, I wanted to make sure you _remember_ who I am upon first sight. After you had trouble when I sent only my messenger.” As if the smell wasn't enough to recognize him. The Nightmare King felt a familiar burning of rage in his stomach, calling upon his shadows to form his scythe in his hand.

“How _considerate_ of you. You have five seconds to _leave_.” Even the battle stance the Shadowmancer took didn't seem to impress the still smiling intruder.

 

“Now, no need for hostilities. I’m not here to fight. I merely wanted to propose an offer to you.” An intimidating snarl was the answer.

 

“Not interested, _Legion_. _Leave_.” With an insane cackle the Lich King was right in Pitch's face, one hand holding the scythe with surprising strength. He couldn’t wrench the weapon free but he stood his ground. Fierce golden eyes met with burning red ones, only inches apart. The sweet scent of rot and decay was unbearable this close. Leaning in the Lich King, _Legion,_ used his free hand to hold Pitch in place.

 

“You remember my name? What an _honour._ ” Grinding his teeth in hardly suppressed fury Pitch all but snarled at the intruder. “I’m _not interested_ in whatever it is you have to offer. _So_ _get lost_.”

 

Another manic chuckle and the traces of corrupted magic filled the air. “As you _wish,_ but know that you will regret your decision. Standing against me is much more _unpleasant_ than being by my side.” With those parting words the crazed spirit leaned in even closer, forcing his mouth upon Pitch's with bruising strength. The Nightmare King reeled backwards, finally getting control of his scythe again and bringing the deadly weapon down. It met with cold stone, the Necromancer vanished in the blink of an eye. With an outraged cry the dark spirit lashed out blindly. Black metal colliding violently with pillars and crumbling staircases. How _dare_ that creature?! Oh, how he would make him _pay._

 

~~~tbc.

 

_Whooo, we’re finally getting somewhere, aren’t we, Jack?_

_Oh boy, must be hard to finally come to terms with your feelings for your arch nemesis. Especially while you should be worried about other things. Like maniacs trying to kill off humanity. Or said maniacs smooching your wet – dream - material's face._ _Whew, that was a fun chapter!_ _Thank you all for the reviews, you guys! :3_

_I will try my best to finish the next chapter soon since so many of you are still reading this! <3_

_~Shad._


	10. Unwanted affections and a breakdown.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

_**Unwanted affections and a breakdown.** _

 

He wasn't sure how things had come to this. Hell, it wasn't _supposed_ to come to this. Not at all. He had wanted to come here, finish this stupid treasure hunt after this godforsaken magic sword and be done with it. Leave it to the dark spirit to deal with everything else, return to the Pole and never think about it all again. No one would have to know about this so called truce. No one would have noticed, and Jack himself could pretend it never happened in the first place. He would have been able to help his fellow guardians, without causing any trouble. After that freaky necromancer would've been defeated and done with, he could go back to normal. Everything could. And he wouldn't be forced to worry about those weird, messed up feelings at all. They would be forgotten over time. All would have been okay. Uncomplicated. Like it had been before.

 

Or at least in Jack's mind, that's how things were supposed to go. It might have been pretty naive to think that way, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't the type to carefully think his actions through. Or worry about all the possible bad outcomes. Well, now he was forced to.

There was just no way he could hope for things to turn out okay right now. How could he believe something like that, whilst sitting in some dusty old room deep below the earth's surface, desperately trying to keep it together. He had messed up. _Big time._ Not only had he failed in finding the weapon they so desperately needed, he had also been rescued by his once worst enemy from certain death. The same enemy he had spent the last half an hour thinking about in a way he should not have. Not under any circumstances, _ever._ He was injured badly. He was yet again unable to save himself, had needed Pitch to come to his aid. He had disappointed the guardians in more ways than one.

All in all, he had made any possible mistake he could have made. Nothing was accomplished by coming tot he nightmare kings' lair. Nothing but making things more complicated than they had already been. And now _this._ What had he been thinking just now? Why had he done that? How could he possibly face Pitch after _that?!_ At least the answer to the last question came to Jack pretty easily. He _couldn't._

 

The hands that had been wrapped around his knees started to tremble slightly. No, Jack couldn't face the dark spirit right now. Hell, he couldn't even face himself in that dusty old mirror right now. He felt sick. And trapped. Everything was just too damn much for him. He needed _out_ . Cold fingers clenched around dirty fabric, blue eyes squeezed shut. He had messed up. Messed up so _bad_. And now he couldn't even run away, just leave this place and forget. Not thinking about all he had done. The winter spirit felt his own heart beating faster, fingers beginning to go numb.

No. He had to keep it together. He couldn't break down. Not now and certainly not here. Pitch already believed him to be a pathetic child. Hell, _everybody_ believed that. So he had to keep it together. He _had_ to.

If only this horrible feeling gripping his chest would stop. His heart shouldn't be beating so fast, either. And why was he feeling so freaking _cold_ right now? He was a spirit of winter, damn it. He _never_ felt cold.

 

The boy didn't even notice how tense his own body had become. He had never been forced to face a mental breakdown before, always having the ability to just run whenever something like this happened. Just riding the wind, fleeing from it all and pretending everything was freaking okay. Even if it wasn't. If _he_ wasn't.

 

A low sound startled the boy out of his panicking, for a moment freezing his body up in shock. Blue eyes wide, he stared at the source of the noise. There, in the center of the room not too far away from the huge bed, stood a towering nightmare. Blazing golden eyes fixed on Jack, and the boy couldn't help the relived breath that escaped his lips. It wasn't Pitch, thank the gods. Just this annoying angry shadow again. Except it didn't look that angry right now. It was still as intimidating as any huge black horse, but it didn't glare at him that much. Or was that just his imagination? Quickly trying to regain his self control, Jack sat up. His hands, that he realized had been shaking, stilled their movement. The large creature gave a low whine and somehow the spirit knew that it was _her_ again.

 

“It's just you... come to try and trample me again? Go ahead, I don't really mind right now.” Even to his own ears his voice sounded shaky and close to crying. Kinda embarrassing, even if it was just a horse hearing it. Shaking his head lightly, he stood from the bed.

 

“ _Oh come on now, get a grip...”_ He wasn't addressing the mare anymore, rather talking to himself.Still not too comfortable with his surroundings, Jack reached out to retrieve his staff. The horse nickered, walking up to the guardian. She butted her head against his shoulder none too gently once she was standing next to him. “Hey, what was that for?”

He gave her a glare that she returned with one of her own. It's not like the boy would understand her, even if she tried. Huffing, she pushed him again. Only this time not so forceful, and in a certain direction. Still confused, but glad that the thing wasn't trying to murder him anymore, Jack allowed himself to be shoved towards a wall. He wasn't in the best mental state right now, so perhaps that's why he allowed the horse to bite his sleeve and drag him behind her. Next thing he knew, he was swallowed up by darkness.

 

Blinking a few times, he quickly realized that he was no longer standing in the underground lair but rather in an icy cave. The nightmare still next to him, now letting go of his bloodied clothing. So she had brought him here through the shadows? Strange, the guardian had no idea the horses could even do that. Not that he was complaining. He was quite thankful that he didn't have to face Pitch on his way out. A quick glance towards the maw of the cave confirmed that he was back at the pole. They just couldn't teleport right inside because of all the magic wards. With a tired sigh Jack allowed himself to sink to the frozen ground. Yeah, it was probably for the best to be here instead of back inside his room. He didn't feel like facing anybody right now, so this cave was fine. Hell, even the stupid nightmare behind him was fine. At least that thing couldn't judge him for his actions. Or that's what he thought at least...

 

~.~.~.~

 

With an annoyed whine the shadow raced through the tunnels of the lair. Throwing that stupid boy out had taken far too long for her liking. And even if the way back to the lair wasn't fun, she at least had made sure her master wouldn't be giving that kid any more attention. In fact, she'd like some of that attention for herself again. Not that she was possessive, no. She simply disliked it whenever somebody so undeserving of her king got close to him. So in order to get rid of the boy for a little while, she was even willing to accept the punishment awaiting her for acting on her own accord. Still better than being ignored.

As soon as the shadowy horse got closer to her master however, she noticed that there was somebody else stealing him away _yet again_. Somebody that gave off an aura she already hated. It was a powerful creature, but something about it's presence made her hackles rise. Dashing through the last wall separating her from the nightmare king, her glowing eyes widened in pure horror.

 

There was an intruder in the lair alright. And this worthless, undead menace had the actual nerve to _force_ his disgusting body onto her master! The tension and dark magic in the air was suffocating, lifeless lips pressed to those of her king. It happened in mere seconds. Before she was even able to react, her master had already swung down his deadly scythe. Only for the other spirit to vanish into thin air.

Wide eyed the nightmare watched alongside her sisters, as their master destroyed half the hall in outrage. She had never seen him so angry before. So out of control of his own rage.

Just who was that insolent stranger? Who was he to barge in here and unsettle her master this much? How _dare_ he?! Hatred and fury unlike any she's known so far welled up inside the nightmare. And right in this moment, she knew that she hated that corpse-loving monster more than anything. And she wanted him _gone_.

 

~.~.~.~

 

Pale hands stroked over the fabric of the clean hoodie briefly. Well, at least he had managed to convince Babytooth and one of her sisters to find him some clean clothes. Thankfully the small fairy was the only one to notice Jack's return to the pole. It took a bit of sweet talking to convince the fairies that Tooth didn't need to know he had come back soaked in blood, though. As predicted, gladly nobody had noticed his absence. Still, that kind of hurt, knowing that he could be gone for almost a day and nobody would even miss him. Well, the other guardians did have quite a bit of other stuff to worry about. So no use getting upset over it.

It had taken a while until Jack had been able to leave his little hiding place in that cave with his usual joyful mask in place. No need to rise suspicion, in case anybody did, somehow, miraculously care. After getting presentable and rid of the blood caked old clothing, the guardian of fun had taken right to wandering the halls in hopes of picking up any news.

 

So far not much had changed, still no way to pinpoint the location of the Lich King, nor find out his exact plans. Fighting weaker undead and keeping them away from villages and cities was all the guardians and their allies had been up to apparently. At least that meant he had still time to get that sword. Somehow. Even if that meant facing Pitch again.

Jack already dreaded the moment he'd have to come face to face with the Shadowmancer. Just what was he gonna do? Well, the obvious answer would be to just act like he always does. Nobody but him knew about what he had done in that dusty bedroom, after all. And gods was he thankful for that fact. Just thinking about it made the boy want to throw up. Or hide in some dark, dark hole for a very long time...

 

Rounding a corner in North's workshop with those thoughts on his mind, Jack failed to notice the armored man before him. And, just his luck, he bumped right into the breastplate of the warrior standing guard. He was like a magnet for that sort of trouble, really.

 

“Whoa, sorry, I wasn't paying attention to-” The darkelf wasn't pleased, crossing his arms over his chest and staring the spirit down. Oh, crap. Hadn't he been told to stay away from the moody elves? Jack was sure Tooth had mentioned something to him about that briefly. Or was it stay away from the guests in general, but especially the elves? Probably both. A gruff voice interrupted his thoughts and speech.

 

“What is a kid like you doing here? In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a playground, boy.”

 

Okay, what the _hell_? Knuckles turned even paler, while the winter spirit gripped his staff tightly. Did that pointy eared guy just call him kid? Just who does that idiot think he is? Just because he gets to wear a shiny armor and wield a stupid spear doesn't make him _that_ amazing. Blue eyes narrowed while red ones glared right back. Taking a deep breath and preparing to give the guard a good piece of his mind, Jack didn't sense another person approaching.

 

“Ah, no need to get mad, my friend! Jack just likes to wander around, no trouble, yes?” With his usual smile in place North marched up to them, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder before he could speak up. The warrior shifted his gaze to the older guardian, ignoring the winter spirit. The _nerve_ of that guy.

 

“If you say so, guardian. But remember that we are preparing for a council of war right now. Keep your little helpers in line.” A hearty laugh and the bulky Russian nodded, his hand pressing down on Jack's shoulder to remind him to hold his tongue. No need for petty arguments right now. And the proud darkelves were known for their bad temper. Upsetting one of them would surely lead to unnecessary violence. Something Santa would really like to avoid. “Of course, of course! I shall take Jack back to his rooms now.”

 

Waving in his friendly manner, North pushed Jack along with him, away from the guard and the meeting halls behind him. The red eyed warrior only glared after the pair. To say that the guardian of fun was angry would be a huge understatement. Once they were out of earshot, the older guardian released his hold on Jack, sighing. “Ah, sorry 'bout this, Jack. Tense situation, you see? Better stay away from elves. They don't take kindly to insults, no?”

Who was the one insulted here? And that the old man was actually taking the side of that obnoxious armored idiot? Unbelievable. Gripping his staff tightly, Jack spun around on his heels, facing North. “Stay away? I was just walking down a hall! Am I not allowed to leave that guestroom at all anymore, or what?”

 

Gods, he was mad. Furious, actually. Nobody in the whole damn workshop even noticed him vanishing for _hours_ on end and once he's back, they tell him to stay the fuck away? What was he to them, just a nuisance? MiM had made him a guardian as well, after all. They couldn't just treat him like some childish idiot who couldn't be trusted to hold his tongue with their _oh-so-important_ allies! His blue eyes narrowed when he caught the apologetic look on the Russians face. He smiled down at Jack, carefully patting his shoulder, telling him that it was just for his own safety. North was talking to him like he would to a child. _Again._ Again he was treated this way! What the hell?! With an annoyed huff, Jack stepped back, avoiding the large hand. “I get it, I'm just in the way again. Why don't you just outright _tell_ me that I'm useless to you, instead of making up stupid excuses? _”_

 

Probably not the most mature way of dealing with his own frustration and anger. Still, he couldn't stand this crap right now. Swatting away the still outstretched hand of North, he turned on his heel and marched off. They wanted him out of the way, fine! Floor and carpet froze over in Jack's wake, ice spreading around him all the way back to his makeshift room. Let them do their stupid little meetings without him. It's not like he actually did anything useful to begin with, oh no. Without him, they probably still wouldn't know that it was the Lich King they were dealing with! And that's the ' _thank you_ ' he gets? A confused yeti watched in surprise as the boy flung his door closed behind himself, the handle frozen solid. Overwhelmed by anger Jack threw his staff towards the bed, not caring as it bounced off of the wall behind it.

Just why hadn't North at least denied the comment about Jack just being a stupid _little helper_? It's like everyone in the pole just dismisses him, or completely forgets that he's even here! Those idiots. They'd see how great their amazing pointy eared warriors are when they are eaten by a horde of walking corpses. It's not like they have figured out what they need in order to win this fight yet. But somehow, he, the totally useless kid, had. How about _that_ for stupid little helper?

 

Glaring at nothing in particular, the guardian of fun let his anger slowly fade away, only to be replaced by sadness. And for the second time that day, he felt like crying. Only this time he didn't have to worry about anybody witnessing his breakdown. It's not like someone here cared, after all. Hiding his face in his arms, Jack leaned on the windowsill, trying to force the tears back down.

Annoyed he raised one hand to wipe at his face, once he realized that he was failing quite miserably. That's when he noticed the silvery beam of light shining into the room from above. Blinking away the wetness, he quickly stepped back from the window. Great, so now MiM had witnessed him crying like some little human girl. Could this day get any worse? That guy really had the most awful timing, _ever._

Averting his face from the window, gaze locked on the floor, Jack watched the beam of light on his carped take form. “What do _you_ want right now? Here to taunt me again? Adding insult to injury, or something?”

 

The first shape to appear was that of a sword, MiM either not hearing what Jack had just said or plainly ignoring it. With a tired sigh the boy leaned his back against the cool glass of the window, shaking his head. “Yeah, I know. I failed with getting that thing, thanks for the reminder...”

For a moment blue eyes closed in defeat, only to snap back open. The white haired spirit whirled around, facing the moon. It never truly vanished from the sky here at the pole, even during the daytime. “Wait a second, you _know_ about the sword?!”

 

Then why didn't he tell the other guardians?! He deliberately kept them in the dark about something that could possibly save their lives? But why? Why would he do that? The answer came quickly. This time it was the all too familiar shape of one Pitch Black that the moonbeam formed. Jack blinked, taking a moment to comprehend what was being said. “So, only Pitch can help us get to that sword?”

 

Ah, so that's why. None of the other guardians would even listen to the Shadowmancer long enough. Or they'd dismiss it as a trap. They hadn't believed Jack at first either, when he said his information came from Pitch. Besides, would the dark spirit even bother telling them? So far he had only talked to Jack. Sure, he wanted that Lich guy gone, but probably would have waited for the guardians to kill themselves trying to fight him. Rather than actually teaming up with them. Hell, if Jack hadn't made that suggestion, indirectly, Pitch certainly wouldn't have. He had far too much pride for that, didn't he? And so did the guardians. Neither would have accepted the others help. The youngest guardian rolled his eyes. And those people constantly called _him_ immature...

 

“Alright, alright, I get it. You want me to find that stupid sword and get Pitch to help us save humanity.” Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Jack looked back up at the moon with unhidden annoyance. “Nice of you to tell me that from the start, really. Oh, and thanks for the help when I was almost killed, by the way.”

 

For a moment the silvery beam vanished, then reappeared. Probably the closest thing to an apology that Jack would be getting. Not like MiM could have done much while Jack was in some weird underground realm, anyways. Still, he could have told him about that stupid weapon and not wait for Pitch to do so. Annoying moon guy.

“So, what now? I go back and let Pitch drag me into that awful snake nest again, hoping to actually find the sword this time?” Another flicker of light, letting the boy know that he had the right idea. Next was the shape of Jack himself, holding the sword up above his head. The spirit raised a brow. “You want me to take it? I was just supposed to help him find it, you know. You really think Pitch will let me, the personification of immature and useless, keep the thing that can save his most important source of power?”

 

Again the beam flickered for 'yes'. Yeah, as _if_. Pitch would probably lock that sword up safely in some dark corner of his lair until he had a good opportunity to kill that undead dude with it. Why would he run the risk of allowing Jack to take it? Again, the guardian shook his head weakly. “Great idea, really. Just one little problem with that plan of yours. How do I get Pitch to actually _give_ me that weapon?”

For a moment Jack wasn't sure if he was going to get an answer. The light beam shifted, not showing anything. Then, instead of the cryptic pictures, MiM went back to actual words once again. _**Convince him.**_

 

Pale skin heating up, the spirit quickly turned around to shout something probably very vulgar at the moon, but the light had already vanished. _Convince him_? How the hell was Jack going to do that?! And why not just communicate with words all the time, if he had that ability? What was the man in the moons' deal lately?! And to word that message in such a suggestive way, after the last conversation they've had. What the hell? Glaring at the sky with crossed arms and dark tinted cheeks, Jack willed the moon to spontaneously explode. MiM really _was_ a dick...

 

~.~.~.~

 

Golden eyes took in the damaged entrance hall of the lair with distaste. Shadows and fearlings were already busying themselves with cleaning up the mess and getting rid of the rubble. It wouldn't be long before all traces of the king's outburst were gone again. Still, Pitch felt strangely dissatisfied with himself. How come he had allowed himself to get riled up so easily? It wasn't like him to lose his composure over something so stupid. And what was Legion's deal to begin with? Just barging in here and forcefully _kissing_ him? The hell. That necromancer surely had a dying wish. Pitch felt himself shudder briefly when he recalled the feeling of dead flesh touching his skin. Well, at least the Lich King himself didn't smell like decaying corpses _that_ badly. Not that this fact made the situation he had put Pitch in any more bearable...

 

With a frown the dark spirit turned his back to his loyal servants. Instead of watching them clean up the mess he had made, Pitch stalked briskly out of the large room. This wouldn't do, not at all. That undead nuisance had probably wanted exactly this to happen. Him loosing his temper, showing just how much that insane spirit was able to get under the Shadowmancer's skin. He had been played like some puppet. Anger welled up within the nightmare king again, coiling and writhing like a caged beast. _Legion_ would pay for that. _Dearly._

 

Stepping into the vast halls of his library, Pitch tried to force those thoughts out of his head. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted so easily. He had to focus. There was still the matter of getting the holy relic from the forgotten city. If he wanted to see the Lich King's ugly face vanish from existence, getting the weapon was unavoidable. One of his trusty nightmares stepped up to him, nickering softly. He glanced at the shadow while pale fingers already traced the back of an old spell tome. When facing the wardens this time, he would be better prepared. Fighting those ancient creatures off with his scythe hadn't exactly been a fun experience. They were far too strong for his liking. And far too many. And despite the fact that they had managed to escape, it had been a close call. Especially for the young guardian.

Come to think of it, he had completely forgotten about Jack. The white haired spirit was still sitting around in a gloomy room without a door. In his little rage induced rampage Pitch had failed to remember how much the winter spirit hated it to be trapped.

 

He had just wanted the boy to rest a bit after the incident with the warden. It hadn't been his intention to lock him up there for so long. Wincing slightly, the dark king was about to drop the book again, when his mare touched her muzzle to his hand briefly. The link he shared with his loyal nightmare allowed him to witness her, dropping Jack off in some ice cave. So apparently she had already seen to allowing the guardian to leave. Without her master ordering her to do so.

 

Pitch shot her a questioning look, to which she simply whined lowly, not providing insight on why she brought the boy back. Well, that was unusual behavior alright. The other nightmares that had accompanied their sister until now stood back a bit, unsure if a punishment awaited. Dropping the heavy tome on the obsidian desk before him, the Shadowmancer flicked through the brittle pages. “So you took him back to the pole. Without my orders.” It wasn't a question directed at the shade, just stating a fact. She gave an agitated whinny in response. The dark spirit raised a brow, looking up from the book. “What's that supposed to mean? You know _why_ I need him here. I can't exactly pick that sword up myself, remember? That weapon is powerful enough to strip a dark spirit of it's powers. Who knows what would happen if I carelessly touched it?”

 

What was that stupid horse even implying? Like he actually _enjoyed_ having the frost boy snooping around in his lair. Ridiculous. The pages containing old spells were forgotten soon enough. Golden eyes instead focusing on the mare and her angry growling. “Oh _please,_ you make it sound like I'm favoring that boy somehow. He's simply part of my plan. I need him to get rid of _Legion_. For good, this time.”

 

Worried glances were exchanged between the remaining nightmares while their sister kept accusing their master of spending way too much time with some insolent brat. Probably not a smart idea to engage the nightmare king in a discussion about his goals and motives. Still, their sister didn't let up.“I know he's part of the guardians. Do you think I'm _stupid_?”

Their master was getting pretty annoyed with where this conversation was headed. Perhaps they should just leave quietly? Obviously their sister was overstepping way too many boundaries right now. And what does she even mean with paying too much attention to the brat. What brat? Had they missed something?

 

Burning golden eyes narrowed on each other, Pitch crossing his arms while listening to the shade. “What are you going on about? I need him to get rid of a shared enemy, that's _all_. It's not like I actually care about-” The dark spirit didn't get to finish his sentence, the angry shade already butting in. Daringly she took a step closer to her master, staring at him accusingly, neighing. For a split second Pitch's eyes widened, face going blank. Only to have that expression replaced by anger.

 

“ _Undressing_ him?! I was just _healing his wounds,_ there's a huge difference, you know-! It's not like- Why were you even watching?”

Ah, leaving did sound like a very good idea right about now. But then again, this confrontation turned pretty interesting just as well. Who was their sister going on about? That injured spirit boy their master had dragged back here? He didn't seem that special to them, so why would the nightmare king actually bother with helping him heal? True, he needed a being with a different source of power than his own to get the old relic. But surely he could have found a replacement if this one had died? So, perhaps the white haired boy was special after all. Did their king actually care about him on some level? But why would he? Intriguing.

 

“You know what, I'm _done_ with this conversation. I have no idea what you are going on about. This is purely about _business_. Part of my plan, that's _all_.” Voice dripping with annoyance, Pitch shoved the horses' muzzle out of his way, glaring at her. Surprisingly he hadn't just reduced her to a heap of smoldering essence on the ground yet.

 

“I'm not interested in that boy. And even if I were, why should I bother explaining that to _you_? Why do you even _care_?” That mare sure was lucky that he had already let out all his anger on the entrance hall earlier. Otherwise he would probably banish her into the lowest level of his lair. Still, she didn't seem intimidated by Pitch's anger. Quite the contrary, her own fury kept rising. She wasn't _blind_. She had noticed how her master didn't even acknowledge her presence at all while that _brat_ was around. He had even allowed that winter sprite into his lair! Heck, he bothered to save that weakling and patched him up. With his very own dark magic! How could he still be denying the fact that he was somehow interested in that boy? And she knew for a _fact_ that the stupid, nosy frost brat was _attracted_ to the dark king! How could she possibly ignore all that?! It was infuriating! She was just trying to warn her beloved master of that horribly twisted boy's awful dreams!

 

“Awful dreams?” Burning eyes widened comically and for a moment there was nothing but silence in the large library. Ah, she had not meant to actually _share_ that last sentence aloud with her king. How could she ever mention something so _horrible_ to him? She wouldn't dare. But she kind of had, just now. Hadn't she? _Oh_...

 

The Shadowmancer looked at her with a raised brow, clearly not understanding what Jack's dreams now had to do with everything. Wasn't this about him just a second ago? Maybe that nightmare had just gone slightly mad. That, or he was missing some very important fact in the stupid argument they'd just had. Since when was that shade so hellbent on following him around, anyways? He certainly hadn't ordered her to keep watching while he had gone to see Jack and healed his wounds. And he certainly hadn't intended for _anybody_ to witness that he hadn't just healed the major injuries, but all of them. Come to think of it, Pitch wasn't so sure himself just _why_ he had done that. It wasn't really necessary, he could have dragged the guardian back into the forgotten city either way. So, why bother? Who cared if the boy had been in pain? He didn't, right? Right. What was the point of this argument again?

 

Slightly panicked golden eyes searched those of her sisters, hoping for some kind of distraction. She _really_ didn't want her master to know about those horrific dreams she had been forced to witness. It wasn't the other nightmares however that saved her from having to answer to her king, but a fearling that slipped into the library. The little black creature slithered up to the Shadowmancer, waving around it's small limbs. Pitch's gaze followed the tiny creature when it pointed towards a certain direction. Nodding curtly he dismissed his servant. He had ordered it to inform him as soon as the portal to the forgotten city was ready to be opened again. Well, time for business. There was still a magic sword waiting to be found.

 

“About time. And you-” Pitch's eyes were fixed on the mare once more “- better drop this topic already, if you value your existence. This boy is of no interest to me, he is merely a pawn in my plan. Nothing else, got it?” With one last deadly glare towards his nightmare, Pitch picked up the chosen spell tome and made to leave the ancient library. He had some preparations to make, for the wardens surely had increased the security spells on the pathway since last time.

 

With a breath of relief the nightmare watched her master go, finally relaxing her tense muscles. That little fearling had the best of timing, she had to admit. Curiously her sisters came closer to her, neighing softly. They wanted to know what all of this was about. And what kind of dreams they had missed out on. The mare wasn't exactly keen on sharing the wet dreams of some idiotic boy, but what was there to lose? She didn't lie to her sisters. And it's not like any of them would like to let their master know. Certainly not. With a low growl she touched her muzzle to that of her nearest sister, sharing what she had seen. And within half an hour, a hall full of nightmares was aware of just how _interesting_ the frost boy was. So the kid, who's part of the guardians, has a weird crush on the dark king. Their king, who just now denied any kind of interest in said guardian. While saving his live and healing his wounds a few hours earlier. Now, if that wasn't intriguing. Very intriguing, indeed.

 

~~~tbc.

 

_Look at this, a new chapter! Well, since I keep getting reviews for this story, and getting mails reminding me of said reviews, it's kinda impossible to forget it. And I do want to finish it. I hope my writing style hasn't changed too much since the last chapters, tho._ _I'd also like to thank you guys for the kind reviews and the helpful advice about grammar mistakes I have made! I try to edit them out of old chapters as well. Since I have no beta for my stories, I just write what I assume to be the right words. Sometimes completely messing up and being totally oblivious. :_D So, again, thank you for taking the time to review and/or give me advice about the writing! <3 _

_Also, I can totally see all those nightmares becoming closet fangirls, lol._

_Shad~_

 

 


	11. The touch of a goddess leaving you weak.

**Curiosity and Nightmares**

 

_Rating: M_

_Pairing: BlackIce_

_By: Shadako_

 

_**11 th Chapter: The touch of a goddess leaving you weak. ** _

 

This wasn't like him at all. Just sitting around idly, doing nothing. But what choice did he have? After the little run in with the angry elvish guard and North, Jack decided to just stick with staying in the guest room. It was boring, yes. Normally he would complain about it, or just get the hell out of here. Right now however he felt way too frustrated and worn to move much, let alone leave the room. These last few days sure were taking a toll on him. Since MiM's last message he had just lounged around on his bed, icing over the furniture around it. Sulking, mostly. It was just unfair how much faith the man in the moon put into him, yet nobody else thought him capable of even the simplest things. Like speaking to guests without pissing them off somehow, for example. Or judging him to be completely unfit for any kind of battle, thus leaving him here to do nothing. Why couldn't the man in the moon be bothered to tell any of the other guardians how important he supposedly was?

 

Jack was seriously beginning to feel like nothing but a nuisance at this point. Well, alright, he felt like that for a while now. But it certainly wasn't getting any better. Quite the contrary, actually. Sighing tiredly he dropped his staff onto the carpeted floor, both hands coming up to rest over his eyes. Just why couldn't he stop feeling so pathetic and sad? It wasn't like him at all. He's a spirit of fun, for crying out loud. And all he does is sit around uselessly, being a depressed little mess. He really wants to snap out of it, it's just that he's lacking the energy to do so right now. It's all a little too much for him. All these complicated feelings he has to deal with now, yet no idea how to do it. He never had problems like that while he was all alone for the past three hundred something years. Not that he wants to go back to that lonely life, oh no. It's just that he hadn't imagined it to be so difficult to have an actual social life. And that having friends and something akin to a family also means dealing with their possible rejection. Being ignored by other spirits hurt much less while he didn't have anything to compare it to. That's a different story now, however. He has come to cherish the guardians and now he just feels like they couldn't care less about him. The logical part of his mind, the reasonable one, kind of knows that they just want to protect him. But that doesn't stop the burning feeling of being left out. Another sigh, this time much more annoyed.

 

“Just why is everything so damn _complicated_ right now...” Eyes still closed and covered by his own hands, Jack fails to notice the appearance of another figure in his little guest room.

 

“Life would be pretty boring if everything was easy all the time, wouldn't it.” The familiar voice of the dark spirit answers and Jack lowers his hands. Sitting up on the comfy mattress, the boy turns to face the nightmare king. Like the day before, he's seated on the wooden desk. Calmly observing the snow whirling outside through the window. Jack's rolling his eyes, letting his hands drop down on the covers. What's with that guy and always showing up without warning? It's kinda creepy if you never know when, or if, Pitch will show up next.

 

“Not boring, just easy. And I'd like that, actually. How did you get in?” Pitch shrugs, pointing towards the bed the winter spirit is sitting on. Or more like, to the ground below the bed. So the weird dark portal thing is still there and open? Figures the dark spirit would keep it that way. He's not the kind of person who likes to wait for an invitation every time. Jack feels a bit uneasy, knowing that apparently inviting the dark spirit in once kind of gave him a free pass with the warding spells. Not that he could do much about it now anyway. “Right...”

 

“Don't you sound just thrilled to see me, Jack. What's with the gloomy expression? Still riled up about almost getting eaten?”

 

The boy's expression falls even more at the reminder, ha had almost forgotten about the horrible snake - lady trying to devour him. Thanks to Pitch, the memory is now vividly playing in his mind again. A shudder running down his spine, he's silently thanking baby Tooth for finding some not bloody clothing.

 

“No, I wasn't until you so kindly reminded me. I feel even worse now, thanks.”

 

“You're welcome.” Blue eyes glare at the older spirit, not that Pitch minds much. Just why is the nightmare king so infuriating all the time? Does being an asshole come automatically with being a spirit of darkness? Or maybe it's just him. “Yeah, _fuck off._ ”

 

“Well, someone's in a great mood today.” Who's fault is that, Jack can't help but wonder. Well, not like Pitch had much to do with how horrible things went for him, but still. Somehow, it's all his fault. His, and MiM's. Both are being incredibly hard to tolerate at the moment. And now he's thinking about what the moon said earlier again. Nothing he'd like to think about right now, at all. So instead of looking at the other spirit, Jack busies himself with picking up his staff.

 

“Yeah well, you'd be pissed too people around you would constantly treat you like an idiot. Or if all you're good for is being North's _little helper._ ”

 

Raising a brow the dark spirit turns his gaze from the window to Jack. He really sounds frustrated, doesn't he. Looks like the other guardians are too absorbed in their pretty little battle plans to pay any attention to their newest member. Fits them well. They always were a bunch of self centered oafs.

 

“It's not like I value the opinion of the guardians too highly, you know. So I doubt I'd care.” It's true, really. Why should he care what those light preaching fools think. Well, clearly it's not what the youngest guardian would have liked to hear. Another piercing glare is sent Pitch's way. One he pays no mind to. Why should he care if the frost boy is angry, after all? Simple, he doesn't. No matter what a mentally handicapped nightmare is thinking.

 

“Well, I _do_ care. And I'm fed up with this.” At those words the winter spirit gets up from the bed, stalking through the room with his staff in hand. Ice spreading over the carpet where his feet touch.

 

“How can they just assume I'm useless in a fight? I did hold my own pretty well against you, after all!” Ah, now he's just venting, isn't he. Watching with mild amusement, Pitch's golden eyes follow the angry boys steps.

 

“I didn't exactly try to exterminate humanity, though. Nor did I command an army of corpses.” An annoyed wave of one hand is Pitch's answer. The blue eyed boy turns on his heel, having reached the furthest wall already.

 

“Whatever! That's not the point, okay?” This time the dark spirit can't hide his smirk when he answers Jack. “Obviously.”

 

“Just... shut up. I'm part of the guardians, just like them. They can't just freaking _ignore_ me! Or act like I'm some spoiled brat all the time.”

 

Anger rising, the guardian of fun fails to rein in his temper. Normally he wouldn't tell Pitch of all people about stuff like this. But who else is there to listen? No one, sadly. So the annoying older spirit will have to do.

 

“Compared to them, you _are_ nothing but a brat, Jack.” Another death glare and another pleasant smile. How Pitch always manages to be so infuriatingly calm in conversations is just not normal. Jack is almost shouting by now, still stalking through the room aimlessly. And the Shadowmancer just calmly watches from his seat on the desk, providing a smooth answer every now and then. It really, really pisses the frost boy off. Even more so than everything else right now.

 

“Oh, shove it. I can fight as well as they can! I can help them win against this creepy dead guy, they just don't let me. I'm not as damn _useless_ as _everybody_ here makes me out to be!” Golden eyes watch the little outburst, then falling on the spreading layer of ice on the floor with distaste. Freezing up the hem of his coat again, not to mention his shadows. What a bother.

 

“Well, I never claimed you to be _completely_ useless.” Voice still pleasant and teasing the dark spirit gets off of his seat, walking over to the seething boy.

 

“In fact, I _do_ need you to find that sword, remember?” With those words he vanishes, only to reappear right behind Jack. Angry and not in the mood for Pitch's games, the winter spirit only glares at the opposite wall, refusing to turn around. Also, he really doesn't need the other to see how the close proximity is affecting him, his face heating up. He can't suppress the shudder that runs down his spine however, once the nightmare king's fingers trace over his shoulders.

 

“It's not like you couldn't get somebody else to do it.” It takes a lot of willpower to keep his voice from wavering, but Jack manages. Only for his breath to hitch and his eyes to go wide when the taller spirit leans forward.

“That's right. Yet you were my first choice, Jack.” Those words spoken so close to his ear make the boy's knees go weak and words die on his tongue. A weird feeling pools low in his stomach, making him strangely happy for some reason. About what, he isn't so sure. Maybe it's some sort of serious brain damage he suffered in the last fight with Pitch.

 

“So...” The ghostly touches wander from his shoulders down to his upper arms, gently grasping the fabric of his new hoodie there. Somehow it's really getting hard to breath. And to focus on anything but Pitch. The guardian of fun really doesn't know what the dark spirit is doing to him anymore. Or why he's reacting the way he is. Holding his breath he waits for the other to finish his sentence. Only to be pushed towards his bed none too gently.

 

“...don't make me regret my choice and get moving.” Just like that the spell is broken, Pitch is no longer touching him nor speaking to him in that teasing tone. Instead the nightmare king's dark chuckle fills the room as he vanishes into the shadows once more, leaving Jack alone.

 

Blinking in confusion for a moment, the youngest guardian stares at the bed in front of him. The flustered silence is soon broken by an annoyed groan, hands gripping the staff tightly. Just why does he always act like a deer caught in the headlights with Pitch? By now he really should be used to the teasing and stuff. Everything to get him riled up. That's just how the messed up shadow king acts, nothing new there. So why does it still affect Jack so much? A question he really has no answer to. None that he would have liked, anyways.

 

So with not much of a choice but to follow the Shadowmancer back into his lair, the guardian grudgingly gets down on all fours. Not that anybody here will miss him, anyways. And down there he can be somewhat useful. At least this way he can actually help his friends, even if they don't want him to. Now if only he could forget everything that went down the night prior in that dark lair. With another furious blush the winter spirit crawls beneath the comfortable guest bed to access the shadow portal once more. Praying to whoever is willing to listen that his messed up mind will finally shut up about the disturbing attraction he's developing.

 

~.~.~.~.~

 

Standing in front of the entrance to the ancient ruin city again is less pleasant than Jack had imagined it. He warily watches Pitch trace the symbols again, waiting for the familiar glow that would signal the opening of the gateway between realms. One hand absentmindedly traces the pale flesh of his own neck, very aware of his recent brush with deadly talons. He'd like to avoid another run in with the snake monsters, if possible. A shaky breath escapes the boys lips when the older spirit finishes his spell. Time for the second try in mission: get the magic sword. His fingers clutch his staff tighter, this time not eager at all to enter the pathway.

 

Jack following behind the Shadowmancer, they enter the abandoned temple for the second time. By now very aware who, or rather what, placed the rotting sacrifices under the old statue they pass. The guardian of fun can't help but be on edge. Who knows if the snake woman have prepared for their return as well? It's as eerily quiet as it has been the first time so far. Nothing but the strange light and weird plants. Oh, and the deadly traps, of course. But this time around Jack makes sure to watch out where he's stepping.

 

Their journey is a quiet one, for the most part. Pitch pointing out a stone plate to not step onto or a wall to better avoid touching, but that's about it. Not that Jack minds all that much, he's not eager to draw the snake wardens attention again. Sadly, they wont be able to avoid it forever. Already they are drawing closer to the large building in the center of the city. The one that supposedly holds the magical artifact they seek. Or so they hope, at least.

 

Pitch is prepared for any attack this time, deadly spells ready at the tip of his fingers. The first time he was careless enough to let his guard down, after they were able to cross most of the city without encountering anything. Now he knows better. The wardens just stick close to the center of the old capital. Not necessarily a bad thing, either. It means they are protecting something, making it very likely that his ancient tome had been right. They will indeed find the powerful heirloom of this long forgotten culture there. Now to only get inside the sanctum and get their hands on that sword. And leave with it, in one piece, preferably.

 

The pair enters the huge building of the main temple, much like the last time. They follow the same passages, old walls overgrown with vines and moss. Still no sign of the wardens, for now. Something that is about to change soon, surely. The closer they get to the sealed off chamber they had found on their first visit. Weird glowing plants do little for the creepy atmosphere of the place, the silence only broken by their own steps and water dripping somewhere. Jack's attention is drawn away from the weird many – legged bugs when his companion forms the familiar scythe in his hand.

 

With a sharp breath he raises his own staff, this time damn ready to fend off the monster snakes. He's not eager at all to get eaten, thank you very much. Another corner they round and the artfully engraved double doors come into view. The guardian making sure to stay clear of the walls this time, senses heightened for battle. When they reach the same spot they had been attacked in before, Pitch comes to a stop. Following his example, so does Jack. His blue eyes trail over the ground, making out traces of a dried dark liquid. Oh, _gross_.

 

They wait in silence for a moment, eyes never leaving their surroundings. Nothing stirs, this time. Raising a brow in question, the guardian turns to the older spirit.

 

“Uh, shouldn't these snakes be all over us by now? Where are they?” A smirk plays across the features of the nightmare king, despite his fighting stance.

 

“What, missing your new friends already, Jack?” An annoyed roll of eyes and the boy goes back to searching the wide hall for possible enemies. Well, this is kinda creeping him out. Not knowing where those horrible things are hiding is probably worse than actually facing them. Or not. Yeah, maybe not. “Pitch.”

 

Recognizing the tone of the others' voice, the dark spirit spins around quickly, spell already half way woven and ready to strike. The warden is approaching quickly, slithering along the wall to their right, barely making any sounds. This time however she's not making it far, eerie green flames flickering to live on her skin, burning the wailing creature to ashes in seconds. Jack takes a step back, watching the rain of burnt flesh and bones crumple to the ground.

 

“Okay. That was like, extremely gross.” Pitch merely shrugs, lowering the hand that had unleashed the deadly spell. He turns to face the sealed doors again, slowly approaching.

 

“You prefer it to get up close again?” Wincing slightly the guardian only shakes his head, following the other. Well, better the thing is dead, than him. But he really hadn't needed to see a body dissolving to charred remains in the blink of an eye. It's a little unsettling to know that Pitch has this kind of tricks up his sleeve as well. He would very much prefer to never be on the receiving end of that kind of magic.

 

“That's odd. Where's the rest of these things?” Standing guard while the Shadowmancer started his work on the magic barriers again, Jack couldn't help but wonder. Last time there definitely had been more than just one or two of the snake ladies. Pitch is paying him little mind, now fully absorbed by his task. Entangling ancient warding spells isn't easy and requires a lot of concentration. Setting them off on accident is the last thing they need right now, really. It would probably send the whole building crumbling down over their heads or something.

 

“Probably not eager to die. Just be glad they leave us alone. ” Only a few more threads to be unwoven. Someone really did a damn good job of locking this place up and preventing access. What a bother.

 

“Whatever. What's taking you so long, anyway? It's getting kinda boring, you know.” The nerve of that boy. Unbelievable. With a sigh Pitch loosens the last strands of ancient magic, leaving the doors to the sanctuary of the temple open. Taking a cautious step back, he admired his handiwork for a second. Well, so much for holy magic keeping out the vile creatures of darkness. Pathetic, wasn't it. Some _great_ goddess this one must have been.

 

“There, this should do the trick.” Jack was quick to step up to his temporary allies side, taking in the entrance. He shrugged his shoulders after a moment. “Doesn't look all that different to me, honestly.”

 

“It isn't deadly anymore to just touch it, at least. Now, let's see if that holy weapon can hold true to the books.” Despite saying this, Pitch didn't reach out to grasp the rusty handles. After a moment of silence, Jack decided that he might as well. Waiting was never his strong suit, and the curiosity was killing him here. He finally wanted to get to that magic sword, so they wouldn't be helpless against the crazy Lich guy anymore. Reaching out, his fingers curled around the old metal. Pitch's gaze never leaving them, holding his breath for the fraction of a moment. And just like that, Jack was able to push the creaking old doors inwards. The ancient sanctum opened without triggering anything horrible to come their way.

 

Once the big doors had given way, the boy cautiously stepped into the vast halls stretching beyond it. There was no sign of any monster waiting inside, which was no surprise to the nightmare king. Nothing could have gotten beyond the net of these protective spells. Not even the wardens would. They sensed the power hidden inside, sure, but they were unable to cross the threshold. And their own live was apparently more important to the primitive creatures than guarding the doors as well. Not that Pitch had any objections to that. It's not like he greatly enjoyed the smell of burning snake, really. Careful not to touch the doors, he entered after Jack.

 

It was obvious that almost everything inside this holy sanctuary was made to repel the darkness. The former inhabitants of this city built these halls to worship their goddess, a holy creature of light. So it didn't come as much of a surprise. Still, Pitch hadn't expected his powers would drain so considerably from just stepping into the holy chamber. This was not good, nor was it according to his plan. If he wanted to keep his weakness to the holy magic hidden from the guardian of fun, they had to hurry. The sooner they got out of there again, the better. Golden eyes scanning the many treasures and statues lining the walls and pillars, he was quick to make out what they sought. Right there, in the middle of the once grand room, stood the tall figure of a woman.

 

“That's the sword, isn't it?” It was Jack speaking, the spirit also taking in the statue of the beautiful goddess. Her stony dress reaching the floor, spilling fast over the marble. In each of her hands she held something, an opened book in one, a shield in the other. The ages past did nothing to tarnish the beauty of the shrine and the goddess made of stone. The altar at the bottom of said statue however was what drew the attention of the guardian in. A powerful aura surrounded it, almost humming with energy. An unearthly glow radiating from the weapon, innocently lying on a velvety cushion at the statue's feet. He stepped closer, not affected by the strong repelling magic. The holy light didn't burn his skin or drain his powers, just like Pitch had predicted.

 

However, that was the only thing going as predicted. His scythe vanished between his fingers, body unable to summon the power to uphold the spell. Not good. The shadowy tendrils of his long cloak had shortened considerably since he entered the sanctum. Not good at all. He was loosing energy, and fast. Alarmingly fast. He could barely stand to look at the altar, the softly shining light feeling like fire on his skin. Everything withing the nightmare king screamed to leave this place. Yet he stood his ground, teeth clenched in frustration. It seemed so easy to destroy the warding spells, yet the mere presence of the holy altar brought him almost to his knees. What a pathetic display indeed.

 

Unbeknownst to the struggle of the other spirit behind him, Jack continued to walk up to the shrine and the giant statue in awe. It was truly a sight to behold, and the warm glow radiating from the beautifully crafted sword drew him in. He had never laid eyes upon such a weapon before, it's power unlike anything he had felt so far. After a minute of silent wonder at the magnificent blade, he blinked a couple of times. Only now noticing the absence of Pitch next to him, he turned.

 

“Hey, what are you doing back there? Come on, shouldn't we, I dunno, break the magic and pick it up, or something?” Wincing slightly at the boy's words, the dark spirit turned his attention to the door behind him. Pretending to watch out for the wardens, but in truth just wanting to get the hell out of this dreaded place. It was making him sick to just stand there. He'd be damned if he took a single step closer to the holy shrine.

 

“There's nothing to break, just pick it up. Who enters the sanctum is worthy of the blade, there's no need for further barriers.” Well, the worthy – part was a lie, but it was true enough that he didn't sense any other safety measures around. And so far the boy hadn't burnt his skin from touching the doors, or walking barefooted on the sacred ground. While Pitch himself was already feeling like he'd been drained of his powers to the core, standing barely a few feet from the entrance. This place was torture, truly. Why wouldn't the insufferable brat just hurry up?

 

“Really, just like that? Well, that's easier than I thought.” A little suspicious at the dark spirit's sudden strange behavior, Jack approached the altar cautiously. His fingertips reaching for the hilt of the sword, careful not to burn himself. To his surprise however, the warmth he felt radiating from the powerful magical item did nothing to heat the metal itself. It felt just a little warm to the touch. He lifted the weapon carefully, surprised at how light the long, elegant blade truly was. Fine vines of silver curling around the golden hilt, the blade engraved with elegant runes he had never seen the likes of before. With a breath of relieve he pulled his hand back, withdrawing the treasured heirloom from it's rightful place.

 

“Hurry up already, will you.” The impatience in Pitch's voice surprised the guardian a little, the other spirit usually so calm. He thought nothing of it however, seeing as they probably should be going, in case the snake monsters were none too happy about them stealing their holy artifact. With the sword in hand, he turned from the alter and the stone goddess, making his way back towards the waiting Shadowmancer. He missed the way Pitch recoiled slightly, when he stopped a little too close to him, weapon almost touching the black robe.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I got it, so let's get out of here, before the snake girls come back.” Most beautiful sentence Pitch had heard all day. He sure didn't need to be told twice, quickly striding towards the entrance. Jack following suit, taking one last glance back at the statue. Back outside, he leaned his staff against the closest wall, shutting the doors to the sanctum. Not that it mattered, really, but he somehow felt they shouldn't be disturbing the sacred place more than they already had. His temporary ally was already walking down the long hallway they had come form. Cursing under his breath, he picked up his staff and hurried to catch up.

 

“What the hell, don't just go and leave me in this creepy place!” The dark spirit barely spared Jack a glance while he kept walking, pace brisk. Well, someone sure was eager to get out of the ruined city. Not that the winter spirit was objecting, he preferred places with some actual wind as well. And the musty smell down here sure wasn't pleasant, either. He had to almost start out into a sprint to catch up to Pitch, his guard now let down. They had the magic sword, they were almost out of the main temple. And the Shadowmancer didn't even summon his scythe, so Jack assumed it safe enough. A little miscalculation on his part, sadly.

 

They reached the hall they had entered the huge building through, the spacious doors leading outside into the narrow alleys of the forgotten capital. Only, the doorway wasn't as wide open as it had been when they walked in. Instead, thick vines blocked the exit, moss and moldy branches thrown onto them. Seems like someone has been waiting for them. Or rather, _something_. Clawed limbs move across the walls, not on one, but both sides. Eyeless heads with huge, snarling mouths drawing closer and Jack can't help but swallow nervously. Well, at least now they know where the rest of the wardens has gone.

 

“Oh great, just when things were going smoothly for once...” Grimacing, the guardian eyed the advancing monsters with distaste, raising his staff with one hand. “Well, any plans?” When he didn't receive an answer, blue eyes dared to leave the wardens for a second to search out their temporary companion in battle. Only to widen slightly. The nightmare king still hadn't drawn his weapon, neither did he seem to pay much attention to the snakes at all. Instead, one pale hand was pressed against the grimy wall nearby, golden eyes shut tightly.

 

“Pitch?” Still no answer. Alarm raising, Jack turned his attention back towards the monsters lying in wait. Apparently he wasn't the only one who noticed the Shadowmancer's lack of fighting spirit. With the threat of dead bringing spells and scythes out of the way, there was little to hold the wardens back from their prey.

 

“Oh, not good... Pitch, seriously!” It slowly dawned on Jack that he wasn't getting much help in this fight. Not that he had any idea why or what the hell was wrong with the dark spirit. But he surely wouldn't let himself get almost eaten again. Brow furrowed in determination, he raised his staff, first layer of frost shooting out to coat the wall to his left. Their hold on the cracked stones slipping, the snakes are forced to the ground. At least that way, there wouldn't be any more surprise attacks from above. The second wall following suit, ice spreading quickly.

 

Not impressed by the boy's display of power, the attackers keep creeping closer. Slowly, carefully, in case the other spirit, the one that had incinerated on of their sisters with a flick of his wrist, would act. Fire wasn't something the depth dwellers were fond of, but ice, well that they could handle. Cold was nothing to them. They were hungry, and a second time they surely wouldn't let their meal escape.

 

“Well, crap...” At least a dozen of the scaled creatures now blocked the path between the two spirits and the barricaded entrance. No other way to get out of the building, as far as Jack knew. And Pitch wasn't exactly in a talk active mood. Another barrage of ice shards only pushed the monsters back for a moment, clearly not very affected. Just like the snake woman Jack had fought before, ice didn't seem to do much harm to them. Well, wasn't that just great. Lowering his staff a fraction, he raked his brain to come up with anything else. Damn it, if only the stupid king would snap out of whatever the heck was wrong with him.

 

The wardens clearly weren't patient enough to wait for Jack to figure our a strategy, though. One of the beasts, the largest one, chose that moment to snap forward. Weird fins and strong tail propelling the heavy body over the dirty ground, right towards the guardian of fun. Blue eyes widened and one hand dropped the staff, coming up to grasp the sword hilt as well. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to lift the ancient weapon, maybe it was just reflex. It was a sword, after all. Surely he could cut something up with it nicely, right? How hard could wielding a blade be, after all? Lifting the holy weapon, warmth seeping into his skin from where he touched it, the boy swung.

 

Completely missing the body of the attacking warden. The creature however still recoiled with a shrill shrieking sound, wailing horribly as if burnt. It coiled and screeched, clawed hands coming up to shield it's grotesque head from the light. Jack watched with wide eyes as the warden skittered backwards, desperately trying to hide from the intense light the sword now radiated. It's kin also retreating, scurrying backwards. Well, that surely was one useful blade, he didn't even have to actually _hit_ anything. Still, he'd much prefer to be out of this place right about now, before the creatures decided to attack yet again. Lunging forward with the blade raised, he tried to drive the beats back. The wardens scattered away, clearing his path, doing their best to hide in any dark corner they could find. None of them seemed to keen on getting in any contact with the holy relic.

 

This was bad. No, not just bad. This was the worst possible outcome. Nails scraping over the mossy wall in anger, yet lacking strength to do any real damage. _Pathetic_ . Truly, utterly pathetic. The boy raising this blasted sword only made it worse. Then again, he probably saved them both. Which is nothing short of embarrassing, really. A king of nightmares, reduced to this, by just a bit of holy light and magic. Gritting his teeth in annoyance and anger, Pitch called for his trusty nightmares. The entrance to the forgotten city in his lair still open, his loyal servants able to pass freely. Still, it felt oddly like admitting defeat, calling his mares to the aid. Yet there wasn't anything to be done about it – he would need time to restore the lost energy. Nothing he could do to aid in this battle, barely able to keep his focus on the surroundings at all. And the more the boy used the relic, the worse this was going to get. _Pathetic._

 

Why hadn't he considered this? An ancient magic strong enough to strip the Lich King of his powers and seal him away, surely it was just as dangerous and efficient on a different king of the realm below. How could he not take this into account? He had believed the old tome to simply exaggerate, as if the mere presence of the holy relic could be weakening a spirit like him. It had been hard to believe. Well, apparently the tome was not exaggerating in the slightest. And now he had to pay the price for his foolishness. For a moment he lost grip of his thoughts all together, only trying to prevent the burning pain from overtaking his senses. This was torture, like liquid flames washing over his skin. Absorbing more and more of his power as the seconds ticked by. Golden eyes unable to open, body fighting to stay upright. _**Pathetic.** _

 

An angry whine brought the Shadowmancer back to the present, Jack stepping back in surprise, lowering the glowing blade. The strong aura of magic dimming instantly, sensing it is no longer needed by it's wielder. Strong hooves tear through the barricade of vines the wardens had put up. The nightmares take only seconds to shred the plants bloking the entrance, glowing eyes and low whinnying full of rage now filling the doorway. Clearly overpowered and outnumbered, the snake creatures quickly retreat, hurriedly skittering away, out of sight. The mares enter, trampling anything in their path that could be any threat to their master.

 

A large shadowy horse dashes to it's masters side, providing the aid they have been called upon for. Her sisters eye the room, angry and restless, stomping the dirty ground. With a barely audible breath of relieve, Pitch grasps the mane of his ever faithful steed. He's on it's back a second later, more than ready to leave the forgotten city behind and content with not returning. Ever. She is off the moment her rider is seated, galloping out of the main temple building, towards the exit.

 

Blue eyes take in the scene a little perplexed, unsure of what the hell is even happening anymore. Blinking slowly, Jack looks down when something nudges his arm. One of the mares is holding his staff out to him in her muzzle, thankfully not biting down all that hard on the wood. A little weirded out by the shadow creature suddenly acting so civil towards him, the reaches out to take his weapon. The horse makes no indication that it want's to harm him in any way, so clearly it's a different one this time. Taking a look around, the guardian can't help but notice that all of the horses seem oddly okay with him being there. Which is, well, strange. But not the strangest thing to happen today. Sighing tiredly, he looks down at the sword, now down to a barely there, dull glowing shine. The power he felt before laying dormant, for some reason.

 

Okay. Well, whatever. He's so done with overthinking things for today. There's always later for that. Preferably when he's far away from this snake infested city. Slowly walking out of the building, he looks around, no trace of Pitch to be found. Well, isn't that nice. He almost gets them both killed by standing around stupidly in the worst possible moment, and then he just leaves. It's not like Jack knows his way around this dreaded, trap filled maze of a city himself.

 

“He could've at least told me how to get the hell out of here before bolting off...” His words are answered by the nightmares, for some reason still there, surrounding him. The creatures eye him with a weird sort of interest, one that makes the boy really uncomfortable. He can't help the feeling that somehow, these things are talking about him, in some way. Is that even possible? Probably not. Just his mind over complicating things again.

 

“Right... now, how do I get out of here?” The question wasn't aimed at anybody in particular, still the mare closest to him decides to respond. She's nudging his arm again, the one not holding the holy relic. It's pretty obvious that the shadows don't seem to like the weapon much. They stay as far away from the sword as possible. Jack looks at her questioningly, the mare turning and offering her side to him. The gears in the winter spirits head turn for a moment, before it dawns on him what she wants.

 

“Seriously?” He looks at her with suspicion in his eyes. “You won't just suddenly shake me off in the middle of the ride or something?” The horse would roll her eyes at his dumb question, if she could. Why would she let him get on in the first place only to throw him down? Instead she just nudges him again, giving an encouraging whinny. Still a little cautious, but actually kind of glad he won't have to walk through this maze alone, Jack secures his staff under the arm that's also holding the blade. Careful not to touch the mare with either weapon, he climbs on. Not very elegant, but hey, horse riding isn't exactly something he has done before much. Also, no one around to see.

 

“Well, here goes, I guess.” With his one free hand he's holding onto the black mane, the horse taking off and her sisters following suit. All headed for the lair of their king, Jack in tow. And as weird as it sounds, riding a scary, flying horse actually is kind of fun, when said horse isn't trying to murder you. A last glance at the forgotten city below and they reach the portal back to the nightmare king's lair.

 

_~~~tbc._

 

_Another chapter down, and we're making some progress here, whoooo!_

_They finally got their hands on that sword, isn't that great! Or not so much, for Pitch. Well, sucks to have a weakness like that, I guess._

_Gosh this fanfic, I started this out years ago just wanting to write some black ice smut, and what has this become? It's a monster, I'm telling you._

_Well, like always, review, it makes me happy! And reminds my sorry bum that I need to update this, which is good for you as well, if you want this monster to grow further. <3_

_~Shad._

 


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